i 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

Gift  of 

DOMINICAN  CONVENT 


THE  LIFE 


PUBLIC  SEEVICES  AND  SELECT  SPEECHES 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES 


BY 

J.   Q.   HOWARD 


CINCINNATI 

ROBERT    CLARKE   &    CO 
1876 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876,  by 

ROBERT  CLARKE  &   CO. 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 

Stereotyped  by  OGDEN,  CAMPBELL  &  Co.,  Cincinnati. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTRY. 

Line  of  Descent — Family  Tradition — Indian  Fighters— Grandfather 
Rutherford — Chloe  Smith  Hayes — Father  and  Mother — Charac 
teristics — Tribute  to  a  Sister — General  Character  of  Ancestors.  9 

CHAPTER  II. 

BOYHOOD   AND   EDUCATION. 

Birthplace — University — Springs — Kossuth's  Allusion — Early  In 
structors — Sent  East — College  Life — Began  the  Study  of  Law — - 
At  Harvard  Law  School — Story,  Greenleaf,  Webster,  Agassiz, 
and  Longfellow — Admission  to  Bar 15 

CHAPTER  III. 

AT   THE   BAB. 

Commences  Practice — First  Case — Partnership  with  Ralph  P.  Buck- 
land — Settles  in  Cincinnati — Becoming  Known — Literary  Club — 
Nancy  Farrer  Case — Summons  Case — Marriage — Law  Partners — 
City  Solicitor 22 

CHAPTER  IV. 

IN  THE   FIELD. 

Appointed  Major — Judge  Advocate — Lieutenant-Colonel — South 
Mountain — Wounded — Fighting  while  Down — After  Morgan — 
Battle  of  Cloyd  Mountain — Charge  up  the  Mountain — Enemy's 
Works  Carried  by  Storm — First  Battle  of  Winchester — Berry- 

ville 31 

(iii) 


IV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FROM   MAJOR  TO    MAJOR-GENERAL. 

Opequan — Morass — First  Over — Intrepidity — Official  Reports — As 
sault  on  Fisher's  Hill — Battle  of  Cedar  Creek — Commands  a 
Division— Promoted  on  Field — His  Wounds — A  Hundred  Days 
under  Fire 43 

CHAPTER  VI. 

IN    CONGRESS. 

Nomination — Refuses  to  Leave  Army — Election  Incident — Election — 
Course  in  Congress — Services  on  Library  Committee — Votes  on 
Various  Questions — Submits  Plan  of  Constitutional  Amend 
ments — Re-nominated  by  Acclamation — Re-elected  by  Increased 
Majority — Overwhelmed  with  Soldiers'  Letters — Character  as 
Congressman 51 

CHAPTER  VII. 

ELECTED   GOVERNOR  OF   OHIO. 

Party  of  States  Rights — Their  Convention — Platform — Nomination 
of  Thurman — Republican  Convention  and  Platform — Nomina 
tion  of  General  Hayes — Opening  Speech  at  Lebanon — Thur 
man  at  Waverly — National  Interest  Aroused — Hayes  Victori 
ous — Inaugural — First  Annual  Message — Second  Annual  Mes 
sage 62 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

SECOND   ELECTION  AS  GOVERNOR. 

Re-nomination — Democratic  Platform — Nomination  of  Rosecrans — 
Declines^  Pendleton  Nominated — Hayes  at  Wilmington — Elec 
tion — Second  Inaugural — Civil  Service  Reform — Short  Ad 
dresses — Letters — Annual  Message — Democratic  Estimate  of  It — 
Davidson  Fountain  Address— Message  of  1872— Work  Accom 
plished 90 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THIRD   TIME   ELECTED    GOVERNOR. 

The  Senatorship  Declined — Army  Banquet  Speech — Third  Timo 
Nominated  for  Congress — Glendale  Speech — Declines  a  Federal 
Office — Making  a  Home — Nomination  for  Governor — Platform — 
Serenade  Speech — Democratic  Convention  and  Platform — Marion 
Speech  of  Hayes — Woodford — Grosvenor — Schurz  Inflation 
Drivel — Interest  in  the  Contest — Honest  Money  Triumphant — 
Third  Inaugural 124 

CHAPTER  X. 

NOMINATION   TO   THE   PRESIDENCY. 

Early  Suggestions — Letters  on  Subject — Garfield  Letter — Action  of 
State  Convention — Cincinnati  Convention — Course  of  his  Friends 
— First  and  Second  Day's  Events — Speech  of  Noyes — Balloting — 
Nominated  on  Seventh  Ballot — Officially  Notified — Habits — Per 
sonal  Appearance — Family — Letter  of  Acceptance — Character 
as  a  Soldier,  Magistrate,  and  Man — Domestic  Surroundings..  143 

APPENDIX. 

I.  Speech  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  August  5,  1867 ,  167 

II.  Speech  at  Sidney,  Ohio,  September  4,  1867 202 

III.  Speech  on  his  Re-nomination,  June  23,  1869 222 

IV.  Speech  at  Zanesville,  Ohio,  August  24,  1871 231 

V.  Speech  at  Marion,  Ohio,  July  31,  1875 241 

VI.  Speech  at  Fremont,  June  25,  1876. 


LIFE 


OF 


RUTHERFORD  B,  HAYES, 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTRY. 

Line  of  Descent — Family  Tradition — Indian  Fighters — 
Grandfather  Rutherford — Chloe  Smith  Hayes — Father 
and  Mother — Characteristics — Tributes  to  a  Sister — 
General  Character  of  Ancestors. 

GEORGE  HAYES,  of  Scotland,  came  to  America  by 
the  way  of  England,  and  settled  at  Windsor,  in  the 
Colony  of  Connecticut,  in  1682.  He  married,  in  1683, 
Abigail  Dibble,  who  was  born  on  Long  Island  in  1666. 
From  these  ancestors  the  direct  line  of  descent  to 
the  Republican  candidate  for  President  of  the  United 
States  is  the  following  : 

George  Hayes,  Abigail  Dibble. 

Daniel  Hayes,  Sarah  Lee. 

Ezekiel  Hayes,  Rebecca  Russell. 

Rutherford  Hayes,  Chloe  Smith. 

Rutherford  Hayes,  Sophia  Birchard. 

The  earlier  family  traditions  connect  the  name  and 
descent  of  George  Hayes  Avith  the  fighting  plowman 


10  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

mentioned  in  Scottish  history,  who  at  Loncarty,  in 
Perthshire,  turned  back  the  invaders  of  his  country, 
in  a  narrow  pass,  with  the  sole  aid  of  his  own  valor 
ous  sons. 

"  Pull  your  plow  and  harrow  to  pieces,  and  fight," 
said  the  sturdy  Scotchman  to  his  sons.  They  fought, 
father  and  sons  together,  and  won.  A  like  com 
mand  seems  to  have  come  down  the  centuries  to  an 
American-born  son — "  Tear  your  briefs  and  petitions 
to  pieces,  and  fight."  He  also  fought,  and,  though 
sorely  wounded,  won.  Shall  the  crown  of  valor  be 
withheld  by  a  free  people  that  was  once  bestowed  by 
a  Scottish  king? 

Daniel  Hayes,  the  third  of  the  ten  children  of 
George  Hayes,  was  born  at  "Windsor,  in  1686.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-three,  while  fighting  in  defense  of 
Simsbury — now  Granby — to  which  town  his  father's 
family  had  removed,  he  was  captured  and  carried  off 
by  the  French  and  Indians.  He  was  held  as  a  pris 
oner  in  Canada  for  five  years,  and  being  a  young 
man  of  great  physical  strength  and  vigor,  the  Indians 
adopted  him  as  one  of  their  race.  His  freedom  was 
finally  purchased  through  the  intervention  of  a  French 
man,  the  colonial  assembly  of  Connecticut,  sitting  at 
New  Haven,  having  made  an  appropriation  of  public 
funds  in  aid  of  that  specific  purpose.  An  account  of 
the  captivity  of  this  early  defender  of  New  England 
homes  is  found  in  Phelps'  "  History  of  Simsbury, 
Granby,  and  Canton."  The  wife  of  Daniel  Hayes 
was  the  daughter  of  John  Lee,  who  was  noted  for 
his  bravery  in  fighting  Indians. 

Captain  Ezekiel  Hayes,  who  gained  his  title  in  the 
military  service  of  the  Colonies,  married  the  great- 


ANCESTRY.  11 


granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Russell,  the  famous 
preacher  of  Wethersfield  and  Hadley,  who  concealed 
the  regicides  at  Hadley  for  many  years. 

Rutherford  Hayes,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject 
of  our  biography,  was  born  at  New  Haven,  Connecti 
cut,  July  29,  1756.  He  married,  in  1779,  at  West 
Brattleboro,  Vermont — whither  he  had  removed  the 
year  before — Chloe  Smith,  whose  ancestry  till  a  large 
space  in  the  "  History  of  Hadley,"  several  of  whom 
lost  their  lives  while  fighting  in  defense  their  own  and 
neighboring  towns.  From  this  fortunate  and  happy 
union,  which  continued  unbroken  for  fifty-eight  years, 
have  sprung  a  race  of  accomplished  women  and  honor- 
deserving  men.  One  daughter  married  the  Hon.  John 
Noyes,  of  'New  Hampshire,  who  served  in  Congress 
1817-19,  and  died  in  1841,  at  Putney,  Vermont.  A 
daughter  of  this  marriage  is  the  mother  of  Larkin  G. 
Meade,  the  sculptor,  whose  sister  is  the  wife  of  William 
D.  Howells,  the  novelist,  and  present  editor  of  the 
Atlantic  Monthly.  Another  daughter  of  Rutherford 
and  Chloe  Smith  Hayes  married  the  Hon.  Samuel 
Elliott,  of  Vermont,  who  attained  distinction  in  Con 
gress  and  as  an  author. 

In  a  diary  still  existing,  kept  by  Chloe  Smith  Hayes 
when  she  was  eighty  years  of  age,  are  found  evidences 
of  this  good  woman's  intellectual  cleverness  and  vigor, 
and  abounding  proofs  of  her  fruit-bearing  piety  and 
affectionate  tenderness  for  her  offspring  and  kindred. 
At  this  advanced  age  she  seems  a  philosophical  ob 
server  of  natural  phenomena  and  political  events — 
minutely  describing  eclipses,  floods,  and  storms — and, 
while  moralizing  over  the  inauguration  and  death  of 
President  Harrison,  giving  expression  to  the  shadowy 


12  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

hope  that  wise  and  good  men  would  take  the  helm  of 
government,  and,  rebuked  by  the  presence  of  death, 
be  taught  the  lesson  of  mortality.  Rutherford,  the 
grandfather,  bore  the  commission,  dated  1782,  of  Gov 
ernor  George  Clinton  as  an  officer  in  the  military  ser 
vice  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Rutherford  Hayes,  the  father  of  Governor  R.  B. 
Hayes,  was  born  at  "West  Brattleboro,  Vermont,  Jan- 
nuary  4, 1787.  On  the  19th  day  of  September,  1813, 
he  was  married,  at  Wilmington,  Vermont,  to  Sophia 
Birchard,  daughter  of  Roger  Bircbard  and  Drusilla 
Austin  Birchard,  of  that  place.  The  Birchards  had 
emigrated  from  England  to  Saybrook  and  Norwich, 
Vermont,  as  early  as  1635.  They  soon  became  men 
of  note  in  Norwich  and  Lebanon,  and  many  of  their 
descendants  have  continued  to  be  men  of  mark  since 
that  time.  The  family  has  had  representatives  in  Con 
gress  from  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  noted  mem 
bers  of  it  in  the  pulpit  in  New  York  and  elsewhere. 

Rutherford  Hayes  was  engaged  in  business  as  a 
merchant  at  Dummerston,  Vermont,  until  1817,  in 
which  year  he  removed  to  Delaware,  Ohio,  with  his 
family,  consisting  at  the  time  of  a  wife  and  two  chil 
dren.  In  January,  1820,  a  daughter — Fanny — was 
born,  and  in  October  of  the  following  year,  a  daughter, 
at  the  age  of  four,  was  lost.  In  July,  1822,  Ruther 
ford  Hayes,  the  father,  died  of  malarial  fever,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-five;  and  on  the  4th  of  the  following 
October  was  born  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes,  the 
since  distinguished  son.  Three  years  later,  the  wid 
owed  mother  was  called  to  suffer  a  most  distressing- 
calamity  in  the  death,  by  drowning,  of  Lorenzo,  aged 
ten,  a  hopeful  and  helpful  son. 


ANCESTRY.  13 


The  father  of  Governor  Hayes  was  a  quick,  bright, 
accurate,  active  business  man.  He  possessed  both  en 
ergy  and  executive  ability.  He  had  the  independence 
which  intelligence  gives,  and  his  dry  humor  served 
him  well  in  exposing  shams  and  exploding  humbugs. 
He  was  rigidly  honest,  and  was,  in  the  words  of  one 
of  his  neighbors,  "  as  good  a  citizen  as  ever  lived  in 
the  town  of  Delaware."  He  could  do  a  great  deal  of 
work,  and  do  it  well.  He  was  a  witty,  social,  popular 
man,  who  made  warm  friends  and  few  enemies. 

The  mother  of  Governor  Hayes  united  force  of 
character  with  sweetness  of  nature.  Her  self-reliant 
energy  is  shown  by  her  making  a  trip,  in  the  summer 
of  1824,  to  Vermont  and  back — a  distance  of  sixteen 
hundred  miles.  The  journey  had  to  be  performed  by 
stage,  and  consumed  two  months  in  going  and  return 
ing.  She  made  a  second  journey  to  New  England  when 
Rutherford  was  nine  years  old.  Her  amiability  of  dis 
position  made  her  the  favorite  guest  at  the  homes  of 
her  neighbors.  The  straightened  circumstances  of  a 
family  deprived  of  its  head  required  the  aid  of  industry 
and  economy.  She  was  known,  in  village  parlance, 
as  a  "good  manager."  Afflictions  which  would  have 
made  perfect  a  more  faulty  character  purified  her 
own.  She  died  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  October  30, 1866, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-four.  She  had  been  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  fifty  years. 

Mrs.  William  A.  Platt,the  sister  of  Governor  Hayes, 
who  died  July  16,  1856,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  was 
a  lady  whose  virtues  and  good  deeds  are  enduring 
memories  in  Columbus  homes.  The  Hon.  Aaron  F. 
Perry,  of  Cincinnati,  in  a  public  address,  made  this 
allusion  to  her  worth :  "  Mrs.  Platt,  in  the  prime  of 


14  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

a  happy  womanhood,  passed  beautifully  away ;  not  a 
white  hair  on  her  head,  not  a  wrinkle  on  her  brow, 
not  a  cloud  upon  her  hopes;  but  in  the  full  maturity 
of  life  and  love  she  has  gone  where  life  and  hap 
piness  are  perfected."  He  whose  character  it  is  our 
duty  to  make  known  reflects  this  tender  light  from 
two  lives  :  "  She  loved  me  as  an  only  sister  loves  a 
brother  whom  she  imagines  almost  perfect,  and  I  loved 
her  as  an  only  brother  loves  a  sister  who  is  perfect. 
Let  me  be  just  and  truthful,  wise  and  pure  and  good 
for  her  sake.  How  often  I  think  of  her  !  I  read  of 
the  death  of  any  one  worthy  of  love,  and  she  is  in 
my  thoughts.  I  see — but  all  things  high  and  holy 
remind  me  of  her." 

The  conclusions  which  we  draw  from  the  examina 
tion  of  the  records  of  the  ancestral  descent  of  Ruth 
erford  B.  Hayes  are,  that  his  progenitors  have  in  each 
generation  displayed  courage  and  capacity  to  fight 
limited  only  by  the  strength  of  the  enemy  to  hold  out. 
It  was  a  habit  they  had  to  fight  on  the  side  in  the 
right,  and  on  the  side  that  won.  Three  of  his  imme-, 
diate  ancestors — Elias  Birchard,  Israel  Smith,  and 
Daniel  Austin — gave  proofs  of  valor  and  patriotism 
in  the  War  of  Independence.  Another  characteristic 
of  the  Hayes  stock  is  the  almost  uniform  tendency 
toward  longevity.  It  is  a  robust  race,  presenting  an 
extraordinary  number  of  large  families.  The  divine 
injunction  to  increase  and  multiply  has  been  obeyed 
with  religious  fidelity.  Upon  the  whole,  the  stock  is 
good,  and  bids  fair  to  become  better.  As  men  suffer 
discredit  from  disreputable  progenitors,  they  ought  to 
enjoy  credit  from  reputable  ancestors. 


BOYHOOD   AND   EDUCATION.  15 


CHAPTER  II. 

BOYHOOD    AND   EDUCATION. 

Birth-place —  University — Springs — Kossuth's  A  llusion — 
Early  Instructors — Sent  East — College  Life — Began 
the  Study  of  Law — At  Harvard  Law  School — Story, 
Greenleaf,  Webster,  Agassiz,  and  Longfellow — Admis 
sion  to  the  Bar. 

THE  town  of  Delaware,  the  county  seat  of  the 
county  of  Delaware,  is  located  near  the  center  of 
Ohio,  twenty-five  miles  northwest  of  Columbus.  It  is  a 
prosperous  place  of  seven  thousand  people,  the  most 
of  whom  live  in  comfortable-looking,  newly-built 
homes,  and  has  been  hitherto  chiefly  known  for 
its  University  and  its  Springs.  The  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University  is  the  most  flourishing  literary  institution 
of  the  great  Methodist  denomination  in  the  West. 
The  White  Sulphur  Spring  is  a  fountain  of  healing 
and  happiness  to  the  whole  region  around,  and  is 
regarded  with  added  interest  since  Kossuth  came  to 
drink  of  its  waters,  and,  in  reply  to  a  welcoming 
address,  eloquently  said,  that  "out  of  the  Delaware 
Springs  of  American  sympathy  he  would  till  a  cup  of 
health  for  his  bleeding  Hungary." 

Three  squares  from  these  Springs,  near  the  center 
of  the  town,  and  in  a  two-story  brick  house  on  Will 
iam  street,  Rutherford  Birchard  Hayes  was  born. 
This  has  long  been  Delaware's  pride,  and  will  be  its 
fame.  The  income  of  his  widowed  mother,  who  was 


16  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

bereft  of  her  husband  four  months  before  her  son's 
birth,  was  derived  from  the  rent  of  a  good  farm  lying 
two  miles  north  of  Delaware,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Whetstone.  This  income,  used  with  frugality,  ena 
bled  her  to  commence  the  education  of  her  children. 
They  were  sent  first  to  the  ordinary  schools  of  the  town. 
The  first  teacher  who  enlisted  the  affections  of  her 
since  distinguished  pupil  was  Mrs.  Joan  Murray,  a 
most  worthy  woman,  whose  funeral  Governor  Hayes 
quite  recently  attended.  He  began  the  study  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages  with  Judge  Sherman 
Finch,  a  good  classical  scholar  and  a  good  lawyer,  of 
Delaware,  who  had  been  at  one  time  a  tutor  in  Yale 
College.  Judge  Finch  heard  the  recitations  of  his 
pupil  in  his  office  at  intervals  of  leisure  from  the 
duties  of  his  profession.  The  pupil  taught  his  sister 
each  day  what  his  instructor  taught  him. 

Through  the  agency  of  his  uncle,  Sardis  Birchard, 
his  guardian,  who  at  this  time  took  charge  of  his 
education,  Rutherford  was  sent  to  an  academy  at 
Norwalk,  Ohio.  Here  he  remained  one  year  under 
the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chapman,  a  Methodist 
clergyman  of  scholarly  attainments.  In  the  fall  of 
1837,  to  complete  his  preparation  for  college,  he  was 
sent  to  quite  a  noted  school  at  Middletown,  Connec 
ticut,  kept  by  Isaac  Webb.  Mr.  Webb,  being  a  grad 
uate  of  Yale,  made  a  specialty  of  preparing  students 
for  admission  to  Yale  College.  His  scholars  came 
from  every  part  of  the  United  States.  In  one  year, 
his  Ohio  pupil's  preparatory  course  was  completed. 
The  character  established  by  him  at  this  school  is 
made  known  in  the  concluding  portion  of  a  commend- 


BOYHOOD    AND    EDUCATION.  17 

atory  letter  addressed  by  Isaac  Webb,  his  instructor, 
to  Mrs.  Sophia  Hayes,  which  reads : 

"  The  conduct  of  your  son  has  hitherto  done  *  honor 
to  his  mother/  and  has  secured  our  sincere  respect  and 
esteem.  I  hope  and  trust  that  he  will  continue  to  be 
a  great  source  of  happiness  to  you." 

The  first  prize  for  proficiency  in  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Arithmetic  was  awarded  at  this  academy  to  "R.  B. 
Hayes." 

In  the  fall  of  1838,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  young 
Hayes  entered  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  after  passing 
satisfactorily  the  usual  examination  for  admission. 
This  institution  is  situated  forty  miles  north  of  Co 
lumbus,  in  the  village  of  Gambier,  which  is  celebrated 
for  the  secluded  beauty  of  its  lawns  and  groves.  The 
College  was  founded  by  Bishop  Chase,  with  funds  col 
lected  by  him  in  England,  the  principal  donors  being 
Lord  Gambier  and  Lord  Kenyon.  The  institution  was 
long  under  the  fostering  care  of  Bishop  Mcllvaine  of 
blessed  memory. 

Young  Hayes  excelled *as  a  debater  in  the  literary 
societies  and  in  all  the  college  studies ;  but  his  tastes 
especially  ran  to  logic,  mental  and  moral  philosophy, 
and  mathematics.  In  the  words  of  a  college  mate, 
now  a  very  distinguished  lawyer,  he  was  remarkable 
in  college  for  "  great  common  sense  in  his  personal 
conduct;  never  uttered  a  profane  word;  behaved  al 
ways  like  a  considerate,  mature  man."  In  the  lan 
guage  of  another  able  member  of  the  legal  profession, 
who  followed  after  him  at  Kenyon :  "  Hayes  had  left 
a  memory  which  was  a  fascination,  a  glowing  mem 
ory;  he  was  popular,  magnanimous,  manly;  was  a 
noble,  chivalrous  fellow,  of  great  promise." 


18  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

i  On  the  general  points  of  character,  conduct,  and 
scholarship,  it  is  conclusive  to  sa}^  that,  when  gradu 
ation-day  came,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  found  to 
have  been  awarded  the  valedictory,  which  was  the 
highest  honor  the  faculty  could  bestow  upon  a  mem 
ber  of  his  class.  Although  the  youngest  in  years,  he 
was  found  the  oldest  in  knowledge.  In  three  journals 
published  in  August,  1842,  the  month  and  year  of  his 
graduation,  we  lind  exceptionally  warm  commenda 
tions  of  his  valedictory  oration.  The  Mt.  Vernon 
Democratic  Banner  said :  "  All  who  heard  this  ora 
tion  pronounced  it  the  best,  in  every  point  of  view, 
ever  delivered  on  the  hill  at  Gambler." 

In  the  class  with  Governor  Hayes  were  Lorin  An 
drews,  afterward  President  of  the  College,  who  fell  in 
the  war  for  the  Union,  and  the  Hon.  Guy  M.  Bryan,, 
late  member  of  Congress,  and  present  speaker  of  the 
Texas  House  of  Representatives,  who,  although  en 
gaged  in  the  rebellion,  has  paid  a  manly  tribute  to 
his  College  classmate  since  the  presidential  nomina 
tion. 

In  other  college  classes  at  the  same  time  were  Stan 
ley  Matthews,  now  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the 
United  States ;  Hon.  Joseph  McCorkle  and  Hon.  R. 
E.  Trowbridge,  afterward  members  of  Congress  from 
California  and  Michigan  respectively;  and  Christopher 
P.  "Wolcott,  who  subsequently  filled  with  high  distinc 
tion  the  office  of  attorney-general  of  Ohio,  and  was 
also  assistant  secretary  of  war. 

Kenyon  College  and  its  graduates  bestowed  addi 
tional  honors  upon  the  valedictorian  of  the  class  of 
1842.  In  1845,  he  was  invited  back  by  the  faculty  to 
take  the  second  degree,  and  deliver  what  is  known 


BOYHOOD   AND    EDUCATION.  19 

as  the  Master's  oration.  He  was  invited  also  by  the 
alumni  to  deliver  the  annual  address  before  them, 
both  in  1851  and  in  1853.  All  these  honors  he  mod 
estly  declined. 

Soon  after  graduating,  Mr.  Hayes  began  the  study 
of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Thomas  Sparrow,  of  Colum 
bus.  Mr.  Sparrow  was  a  lawyer  of  high  standing, 
whose  integrity  was  proverbial.  Although  a  Demo 
crat  in  politics,  he  was  regarded  by  his  political  ad 
versaries  as  the  purest  of  pure  men.  This  worthy 
instructor  certifies  to  the  "great  diligence"  and  "good 
moral  character"  of  his  student  on  the  latter's  depart 
ure  to  attend  a  course  of  law  lectures  at  Harvard.  A 
taste  for  the  legal  profession  had  been  very  early  de 
veloped  by  young  Hayes.  The  proceedings  of  courts 
had  possessed  to  him  in  boyhood  peculiar  interest. 

Judge  Ebenezer  Lane,  long  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Ohio,  an  intimate  associate  of  Sardis  Bir- 
chard,  the  patron  uncle,  had  early  turned  the  thoughts 
of  the  guardian  of  the  nephew  in  the  direction  of  the 
law. 

Rutherford  B.  Hayes  entered  the  law  school  of 
Harvard  University,  August  22,  1843,  and  finished 
the  course  of  lectures,  January  8,  1845.  The  law  in 
stitution  was  at  this  time  under  the  charge  of  Mr. 
Justice  Story,  whose  eminence  as  a  jurist  is  only  sur 
passed  by  that  of  his  bosom  friend,  the  great  Chief 
Justice,  John  Marshall.  He  enjoyed  the  friendship 
and  counsel  of  Story,  and  also  that  of  Prof.  Simon 
Greeuleaf,  who  bears  testimony  to  his  diligence,  ex 
emplary  conduct,  and  demeanor.  He  kept  a  minute 
record,  still  preserved,  of  all  the  trials  and  proceedings 
of  the  moot  courts,  presided  over  by  Professors  Green- 


20  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

leaf  and  Story,  and  pages  of  authorities  are  cited 
where  "R.  B.  Haves"  appears  as  counsel  for  the  fic 
titious  plaintiff  or  defendant.  It  might  have  been  safely 
assumed  that  a  young  man  of  his  quick  perceptions 
while  in  the  atmosphere  of  Boston  would  make  the 
most  of  his  opportunities  and  advantages.  He  at 
tended  the  lectures  of  Prof.  Longfellow  on  the  lit 
erature  of  foreign  languages.  He  profited  by  the 
lecture-room  talks  of  the  great  scientist,  Agassiz,  upon 
the  grand  theme  of  nature.  Watching  his  opportuni 
ties,  he  heard  Webster  deliver  his  model  arguments 
before  juries,  and  his  great  political  speeches  in  Fan- 
euil  Hall.  He  visited  John  Quincy  Adams  at  his 
home  in  Quincy,  with  a  party  of  his  fellow-students, 
who,  when  he  learned  that  some  of  his  visitors  were 
from  Ohio,  read  to  them  a  part  of  an  address  Mr.  Ad 
ams  was  about  to  deliver  on  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Observatory  on  Mt.  Adams,  near  Cincin 
nati. 

He  renewed  and  prosecuted  with  ardor  the  study  of 
the  French  and  German  languages,  both  of  which 
he  now  translates  with  ease,  and  speaks  the  former 
with  reasonable  fluency. 

Leaving  with  regret  the  classic  shades  of  Cambridge, 
and  parting  from  fellow-students  such  as  George 
Iloadly,  Manning  F.  Force,  and  the  since  famous  ora 
tor,  J.  B.  L.  Curry,  of  Alabama,  he  returned  to  Ohio 
an  educated  young  man.  He  was  fitted  for  the  battle 
of  life  which  he  has  since  so  courageously  fought, 
so  far  as  America  can  afford  facilities  for  procuring  a 
complete,  symmetrical  education.  Impatient  to  begin 
the  struggle  in  his  profession,  he  proceeded  to  Mari 
etta,  where  the  ambulatory  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio 


BOYHOOD   AND   EDUCATION.  21 

was  then  sitting,  and  having  passed  before  an  examin 
ing  committee,  composed  of  Messrs.  Hart,  Gardiner, 
Buel,  and  Robinson,  was  duly  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  courts  of  the  State  as  attorney  and  counsellor  at 
law.  The  certificate  of  admission,  which  is  dated 
March  10,  1845,  has  so  good  a  name  attached  to  it  as 
that  of  Thomas  W.  Ewart,  clerk.  The  Plymouth  of 
the  West  had  therefore  the  honor  of  welcoming  to  the 
bar  the  rising  son  of  the  West. 


22  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AT   THE   BAR. 

Commences  Practice — First  Case — Partnership  with 
Ralph  P.  Buckland — Settles  in  Cincinnati — Becoming 
Known — Literary  Club — Nancy  Farrer  Case— Sum 
mons'  Case — Marriage — Law  Partners — City  Solicitor. 

THE  young  lawyer,  R.  B.  Hayes,  full  of  hopefulness 
and  ambition,  commenced  the  practice  of  the  law  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  now  Fremont,  Sandusky  county, 
Ohio.  This  growing  town  of  Northern  Ohio  was  se 
lected  because  it  was  the  home  of  the  uncle  whose  ex 
tensive  business  connections  would  naturally  throw 
more  or  less  law  business  into  the  nephew's  hands. 

His  first  case  was  one  against  a  sheriffs  sureties,  the 
sheriff  having  become  insolvent.  There  were  five  or 
six  bondsmen,  who  employed  as  many  different  law 
yers,  who  of  course  made  a  fierce  fight  to  protect  the 
pockets  of  their  clients.  The  pleadings  were  difficult 
under  the  old  practice,  and  the  slightest  technical  de 
fect  in  them  would  adriotiy  be  taken  advantage  of  by 
the  defendants'  attorneys.  But  so  accurately  had  the 
pleadings  been  drawn,  and  so  well  had  the  case  been 
worked  up  by  the  young  lawyer,  that  no  flaw  could 
be  found,  and  his  suit  was  at  all  points  successful. 

After  this  success  he  had  a  good  run  of  office  busi 
ness,  and  was  employed  both  in  the  defense  and  prose 
cution  of  criminals.  In  April,  1846,  he  entered  into 
a  law-partnership  with  Ralph  P.  Buckland,  an  older 


AT   THE    BAR.  23 


practitioner  in  good  practice.  Mr.  Buckland  subse 
quently  became  a  conspicuous  member  of  the  Ohio 
Senate,  and  a  gallant  officer  of  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  in  the  war.  He  became  a  member  also  of  the 
Thirty-ninth  Congress. 

One  of  the  most  important  cases  tried  by  Hayes 
while  a  member  of  this  firm  was  an  action  to  prevent 
or  enjoin  the  building  of  a  railway  bridge  across  the 
Bay  of  Sandusky,  on  the  ground  of  its  obstructing 
navigation.  The  cause  was  tried  before  Judge  Mc 
Lean,  in  the  United  States  District  Court  at  Cincin 
nati.  Thomas  Ewing,  who  was  one  of  the  opposing 
counsel  in  the  case,  continued  to  compliment  Hayes 
during  life  for  this  maiden  effort  in  a  United  States 
Court. 

In  November,  1848,  in  consequence  of  bleeding  at 
the  lungs  and  other  alarming  admonitions  of  failing 
health,  Mr.  Hayes  left  Fremont  to  pass  a  winter  with 
his  friend,  Guy  M.  Bryan,  in  Texas.  A  half  year  of 
boating,  fishing,  hunting,  and  scouring  the  prairies 
brought  about  a  physical  revolution.  He  came  back 
as  sound  as  a  dollar — that  is,  a  coin  dollar — and  has 
so  remained  ever  since. 

In  December,  1849,  he  put  in  execution  a  design  for 
some  time  contemplated,  and  on  Christmas  eve  ar 
rived  in  Cincinnati.  He  had  consulted  professional 
friends  in  Cincinnati  about  seeking  the  stimulus  of  a 
wider  field  for  permanent  occupation,  and  was  doubt 
less  influenced  somewhat  by  the  advice  received.  One 
who  had  been  with  him  at  Harvard  wrote :  "  I  have 
not  flattered  the  face  of  man  or  woman  for  years,  but 
I  think  honestly  that  the  R.  B.  Hayes  whom  I  knew 
four  years  ago  would  be  sure  to  succeed  at  this  bar, 


24  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

if  he  can  afford  to  live  and  wait."  Another  profes 
sional  brother,  on  terms  of  intimacy,  wrote :  "  With 
your  energies,  talents,  education,  and  address,  you  are 
green — verdant  as  grass — to  stay  in  a  country  village." 
On  the  8th  of  January,  1850,  the  new  candidate  for 
public  and  professional  favor  took  possession  of  an 
office  on  the  south  side  of  Third  street,  between  Main 
and  Sycamore,  opposite  the  Henrie  House.  His  office 
companion  was  John  W.  Herron,  with  whose  appear 
ance  and  manners  the  new  comer  seems  to  have  been 
well  pleased.  ^The  first  year  in  Cincinnati  brought 
little  professional  business,  but  no  day  was  passed  in 
idleness.  .  His  studies  were  systematic,  and  his  read 
ing  comprehensive  in  both  law  and  literature.  Shakes 
peare,  Burke,  Webster,  and  Emerson  were  his  insepa 
rable  companions.  He  sought  to  widen  the  circle  of 
his  acquaintances,  and  add  daily  to  the  number  of  his 
friends.  Having  been  a  member  of  the  order  of  Odd- 
Fellows  and  Sons  of  Temperance  in  Fremont,  he 
united  again  with  those  organizations  in  Cincinnati. 
The  addresses  he  was  invited  to  deliver  at  Odd- 
Fellow's  lodges  and  at  many  more  public  places  were 
very  numerous.  In  this  way  he  made  reputation  as  a 
public  speaker,  if  not  money.  He  was  not  only  be 
coming  known,  but  becoming  favorably  known. 

The  widely  renowned  literary  club  of  Cincinnati, 
which  he  joined  in  1850,  and  of  which  he  remained 
an  active  member  for  eleven  years,  awakened  his  so 
cial  sympathies  and  ardent  interest.  To  the  reading 
of  essays,  and  to  the  discussions  on  political,  social, 
and  moral  questions,  he  always  listened,  and  in  the 
latter  often  took  part.  In  debate,  he  was  strong, 
eager,  clear,  and  logical.  He  had  an  aptitude  at  see- 


AT   THE   BAR.  25 


ing  principles  and  getting  at  the  kernel  of  questions. 
Among  those  who  during  these  years  participated  in 
the  social  or  literary  entertainments  of  the  club-room 
were  Chief  Justice  Chase,  Thomas  Corwin,  Thomas 
Ewing,  father  and  son,  General  Pope,  General  Edward 
F.  Noyes,  Stanley  Matthews,  M.  D.  Con  way,  Man 
ning  F.  Force,  W.  K.  Rogers,  John  "W.  Ilerron, 
D.  Thew  "Wright,  Isaac  Collins,  Charles  P.  James, 
R.  D.  Mussey,  and  many  others  of  ability  and 
distinction.  In  January,  1852,  the  opportunity  for 
"getting  a  start"  in  his  professional  career  came. 
"While  making  a  sensible,  energetic  little  speech  in 
behalf  of  a  criminal  indicted  for  grand  larceny,  named 
Cunningham,  he  attracted  the  attention  and  won  the 
commendation  of  Judge  It.  B.  Warden,  then  president 
judge  of  the  criminal  court,  who  thereupon  appointed 
the  modest  young  attorney  counsel  for  Nancy  Farrer, 
whose  case  became  the  great  criminal  case  of  the 
term,  if  not  of  the  times. 

Nancy  Farrer  had  poisoned  all  the  members  of  two 
families.  She  had  a  bad  countenance,  a  sinister,  re 
volting  look.  It  is  not  strange  that  she  should  have 
been  considered  by  the  court  and  jury  that  tried  her, 
and  by  the  entire  public,  a  qualified  candidate  for  the 
gallows.  Hayes,  in  defending  his  client,  had  to  con 
tend  against  the  passions,  the  indignation  of  the  pub 
lic,  and  the  predispositions  and  prejudices  of  judge 
and  jury.  The  judge  who  tried  the  case  was  not  the 
one  who  appointed  the  comparatively  unknown  attor 
ney  as  counsel.  Hayes  saw  instinctively  the  immense 
importance  of  the  case,  and  knew  intuitively  that  a 
crisis  had  come  in  his  career.  He  set  laboriously  to 
work  to  establish  an  impregnable  line  of  defense. 


26  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

He  found  on  examination  of  the  proofs  that  the 
supposed  murderess  was  totally  irresponsible,  because 
of  hereditary  idiocy  and  insanity.  Her  father  had 
died  of  drunkenness  in  a  Cincinnati  hospital,  and  her 
mother  went  about  under  the  insane  hallucination  that 
she  was  a  prophetess.  Nancy's  conduct  and  conver 
sations  while  employed  in  the  wholesale  poisoning 
business  showed  that  she  had  no  moral  comprehen 
sion  of  what  she  was  about.  But  the  plea  of  insanity 
had  been  so  often  and  so  vehemently  pressed  in  de 
fense  of  prisoners  who  were  sane  that  it  seemed  to  be 
of  no  avail  in  defense  of  one  who  was  not.  The  cry 
of  insanity,  like  that  of  "  wolf,"  had  been  so  repeat 
edly  raised  when  there  was  no  insanity,  that  it  was 
not  heeded  when  there  was.  Notwithstanding  an  ar 
gument  which  for  legal  learning  and  forensic  eloquence 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  press  and  bar,  and  es 
tablished  the  counsel's  reputation,  the  poor,  insane 
idiot  was  convicted  of  murder  in  the  first  degree. 
Hayes  at  once  obtained  a  writ  of  error,  which  the 
district  court  reserved  for  decision  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State.  The  case  was  argued  and  deter 
mined  in  that  court  at  the  December  term,  1858,  and 
reported  in  2  Ohio  St.  Reports.  R.  B.  Hayes  appeared 
for  plaintiff  in  error,  and  George  E.  Pugh,  attorney- 
general  for  the  State.  The  earnest  and  determined 
advocate  of  Nancy  Farrer  carried  his  points,  obtained 
a  new  trial,  and  greatly  enhanced  his  professional 
reputation.  The  then  official  reporter  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Ohio,  who  heard  this  argument,  says :  "  It 
was  a  truly  admirable  effort,  and  the  peroration  was 
indescribably  pathetic.  But  on  this  occasion,  as  on 
all  others,  Mr.  Hayes  was  singularly  modest."  Al- 


AT    THE   BAR.  27 


though  a  new  trial  was  granted,  through  the  concur 
ring  opinions  of  Justices  Corwin,  Thurman,  and  Ran- 
ney,  Nancy  Farrer  was  never  again  tried.  She  was 
sent  to  a  lunatic  asylum. 

Hayes  next  gained  reputation  through  his  connec 
tion  with  the  notorious  James  Summons  murder  case. 
He  was  employed  by  the  older  counsel  in  the  case  to 
take  notes  of  the  testimony  and  record  the  rulings 
of  the  court.  The  trial  occupying  many  days  and 
many  differences  arising  between  counsel  with  respect 
to  the  rulings  of  the  court,  it  was  found  that  the  ac 
curacy  of  the  notes  of  the  junior  attorney  was  in 
every  instance  confirmed  by  the  court  itself.  When 
the  time  came  for  the  final  arguments  to  begin,  the 
leading  counsel  asked  each  a  day  for  each  side.  Judge 
Thurman,  then  presiding,  on  consultation  with  Judge 
Piatt,  announced  that  the  court  could  only  give  the 
leading  counsel  two  hours  each,  but  that  they  would 
allow  Mr.  Hayes  one  hour  additional.  Notwithstand 
ing  the  court  was  assured  that  Mr.  Hayes  was  not 
strictly  employed  in  the  case,  Judges  Thurman,  Mat 
thews,  and  Piatt  insisted  upon  hearing  him,  and  he 
was  accordingly  heard.  His  unpremeditated  argument 
was  clear,  convincing,  impassioned,  and  impressive. 
It  was  one  of  the  best  speeches  of  his  life.  The  case 
went  up  to  the  Supreme  Court  with  the  junior  as  the 
leading  counsel. 

"We  now  reach  an  event  in  the  course  of  this  nar 
rative,  which,  controlling  as  is  the  influence  it  has  upon 
all  lives,  has  been  immeasurably  potent  in  its  influ 
ence  upon  the  life  and  fortunes  of  Governor  Hayes. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  1852,  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Lucy  W.  Webb,  by  Prof.  L.  D.  McCabe,  of  the 


28  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

Ohio  Wesleyan  University.  The  marriage  took  place 
at  ETo.  141  Sixth  street,  Cincinnati,  the  bride's  home,  in 
the  presence  of  about  forty  friends.  Lucy  Ware 
Webb  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  James  Webb  and 
Maria  Cook  Webb.  Dr.  Webb  was  a  popular  gentle 
man  and  successful  practicing  physician  in  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio.  In  1833,  he  died  of  cholera  in  Lexing 
ton,  Kentucky,  where  he  had  gone  to  complete  ar 
rangements  for  sending  to  Liberia  slaves  set  free  by 
himself  and  his  father.  The  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Dr. 
Webb  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cook,  who  in  1777  was 
serving  in  a  regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Andrew 
Ward,  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution.  Both  Gov 
ernor  and  Mrs.  Hayes  are,  therefore,  descendants  ot 
soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  most  worthily  uniting  in 
their  lineage  jointly  the  dawn  of  the  second  century 
with  the  dawn  of  the  first.  The  six  years  following 
1852  were  years  of  full  practice  and  exacting  labors, 
in  which  disappointments  were  few  and  successes 
many.  These  were  years  in  which  solid  foundations 
were  laid  for  as  solid  a  reputation  as  it  was  possible 
for  the  men  among  whom  he  moved  to  build  up. 

In  January,  1854,  he  formed  a  law-partnership  with 
R.  M.  Corwine  and  W.  K.  Rogers,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Corwine,  Hayes  &  Rogers.  This  proved  a 
partnership  of  friendship  as  well  as  business,  being  in 
every  way  satisfactory  and  agreeable.  Mr.  Rogers 
is  now  the  close  companion  of  his  old  partner  in  these 
later  and  more  eventful  years.  Mr..  Corwine  died  a 
resident  of  Washington  City,  a  year  or  two  since. 

In  April,  1859,  he  was,  without  solicitation,  chosen 
city  solicitor  by  the  city  council  of  Cincinnati,  to  fill 
the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Judge  Hart,  and 


AT    THE   BAR.  29 


on  the  9th  of  that  month  entered  upon  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duties.  His  chief  competitor  for  this 
office  was  Caleb  B.  Smith,  since  a  member  of  Mr. 
Lincoln's  cabinet.  The  vote  in  the  city  council  on 
the  first  ballot  was  :  Mr.  Smith,  13 ;  Mr.  Disney,  12 ; 
Mr.  Hayes,  3.  On  the  seventh  ballot,  Mr.  Hayes  had 
17;  Mr.  Ware,  12,  and  Mr.  Disney,  3.  On  the  thir 
teenth  ballot,  Mr.  Hayes  was  declared  elected,  having 
receive  18  votes  to  Mr.  Ware's  14.  His  election  was 
due  to  the  vote  of  Mr.  Toohey,  a  Democratic  council 
man  of  the  Thirteenth  Ward.  The  election  of  Hayes 
to  his  first  office  was  most  favorably  received. 

The  Cincinnati  Commercial,  of  December  9,  1858, 
said  :  "  R.  B.  Hayes,  Esq.,  one  of  th,e  most  honest 
and  capable  young  lawyers  of  the  city,  was  elected 
city  solicitor  last  night  by  the  city  council  to  fill  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Judge  Hart.  It 
would  have  been  very  difficult  to  have  made  any  other 
selection  of  a  solicitor  equally  excellent  and  as  gen 
erally  satisfactory." 

The  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  of  the  same  date,  said : 
"  Mr.  Hayes,  the  city  solicitor  elect,  is  a  lawyer  of  good 
acquirements  and  reputation,  and  is  well  qualified  for 
the  position." 

Charles  Reemelin,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Evening  Post,  wrote :  "  I  know  of  no  young  man  in 
our  city  of  higher  promise  than  Mr.  Hayes,  and  we 
hope  for  him  a  bright  future." 

The  estimate  of  the  "  people  seemed  to  correspond 
with  that  of  the  press,  for  in  the  following  spring  he 
was  elected  to  the  office  to  which  he  had  been  appointed 
by  a  majority  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  and 


30  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

thirty-six  on  the  popular  vote.     His  Democratic  oppo 
nent  was  W.  T.  Forrest. 

He  filled  the  office  of  corporation  counsel  for  three 
years,  during  which  time,  as  legal  adviser  of  the  mu 
nicipal  government  of  a  great  city,  he  passed  judg 
ment  upon  questions  involving  large  interests,  and 
discharged  with  high  fidelity  the  duties  of  an  im 
portant  trust.  As  city  solicitor,  the  opinion  which 
perhaps  aroused  the  most  general  attention  and  jnter- 
est,  was  one  delivered  in  February,  1859,  denying  the 
right  of  the  city  council  to  contract  debts  for  water 
works  purposes,  without  additional  authority  from 
the  General  Assembly.  He  was  opposed  to  the  in 
crease  of  taxation  and  creation  of  new  debts,  on  prin 
ciple.  In  April,  1861,  in  common  with  the  entire 
Republican  ticket,  he  was  defeated  for  re-election  as 
city  solicitor.  His  vote,  however,  was  larger  than 
that  of  any  candidate  on  his  ticket.  He  had  suffered 
a  similar  defeat  in  the  fall  of  1856,  when  a  candi 
date  for  Common  Pleas  Judge,  his  party  being  in  a 
decided  minority  in  Hamilton  county.  Had  the  elec 
tion  of  1861  occurred  two  weeks  later,  when  the  great 
uprising  came  with  the  fall  of  Sumter,  the  Republican 
war  ticket,  not  the  Democratic  compromise  ticket, 
would  have  carried  the  day. 


IN   THE   FIELD.  31 


CHAPTER  IV. 

IN   THE   FIELD. 

Appointed  Major — Judge  Advocate — Lieutenant- Colonel 
— South  Mountain —  Wounded — Fighting  while  Down 
— After  Morgan — Battle  of  Cloyd  Mountain — Charge 
up  the  Mountain — Enemy's  Works  Carried  by  Storm 
— First  Battle  of  Winchester — Berry  mile. 

THAT  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  antecedents,  ardent  patri 
otism,  and  impulsive  nature  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes 
would  enter  the  army  in  the  war  for  the  Union,  was  to 
be  looked  for  as  a  thing  of  course.  He  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  obeying  every  call  of  duty,  and  could  not 
therefore  disobey  when  duty  called  loudest.  He  re 
garded  the  war  waged  for  the  supremacy  of  the  con 
stitution  and  the  laws  as  a  just  and  necessary  war, 
and  preferred  to  go  into  it  if  he  knew  he  "  was  to  die 
or  be  killed  in  the  course  of  it."  He  had  been  a  most 
earnest  advocate  of  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the 
Presidency,  and  had  been  an  anti-slavery  man  of  es 
tablished  convictions  long  before  the  candidacy  of  Fre 
mont  for  the  Presidency.  He  did  not  think  the 
Union  should  be  destroyed  to  make  slavery  perpetual. 
He  desired  to  mitigate  and  finally  eradicate  that  evil. 
He  had  prayed  for  the  election  of  General  Harrison 
for  the  sake  of  the  country ;  he  had  cast  his  first  vote 
for  Henry  Clay,  his  second  for  General  Taylor,  and 
his  third  for  General  Scott.  But  the  old  Whig  party 
having  ceased  to  be  a  living  organization,  he  gave  his 
whole  heart  to  the  Republican  party  and  its  cause, 


32  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

and  by  political  speeches,  and  in  other  ways,  helped 
forward  the  movement  in  favor  of  equality  of  rights 
and  laws.  The  insult  to  the  flag  at  Fort  Sumter 
aroused  to  the  intensest  pitch  the  patriotic  indig 
nation  of  a  united  North.  At  a  great  mass-meeting 
held  in  Cincinnati,  E.  B.  Hayes  was  selected  to  give 
expression  to  the  loyal  voice,  by  being  made  chair 
man  of  the  public  committee  on  resolutions.  It  is 
not  needful  to  add  that  these  resolutions  had  all  the 
fire  and  intensity  of  the  popular  feeling.  The  knowl 
edge  that  it  was  his  purpose  to  enter  the  Union  army 
having  reached  Governor  Dennison,  that  officer  ap 
pointed  Hayes  major  of  the  Twenty-third  Ohio  Vol 
unteer  Infantry,  June  7,  1861.  "With  this  appoint 
ment  was  coupled  the  appointments  of  "W.  S.  Eose- 
crans  as  colonel,  and  Stanley  Matthews  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  same  regiment.  Colonel  Eosecrans, 
with  the  other  field-officers,  had  just  set  to  work  or 
ganizing  the  new  regiment,  when  Eosecrans  was  ap 
pointed  brigadier-general,  and  ordered  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  Ohio  troops  moving  in  the  direction  of 
"Western  Virginia.  Upon  the  promotion  of  Eose 
crans,  Colonel  E.  P.  Scammon,  an  officer  of  military 
education,  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Twenty- 
third. 

After  a  brief  period  of  discipline  at  Camp  Chase  the 
regiment  was  ordered,  on  the  25th  of  July,  to  Clarks- 
burgh,  "West  Virginia,  and  on  the  29th  went  into 
camp  at  "Weston.  We  shall  not  follow  it  in  this  or  in 
subsequent  campaigns,  in  its  marching,  scouting,  skir 
mishing,  or  counter-marching.  It  is  enough  to  say, 
that  in  this  first  campaign  it  assisted  in  clearing  the 


IN    THE    FIELD.  33 


whole  mountainous  region  of  Western  Virginia  of  a 
formidable  enemy. 

Major  Hayes  was  appointed  by  General  Rosecrans, 
on  the  19th  of  September,  1861,  judge  advocate  of  the 
department  of  Ohio,  the  duties  of  which  service  he 
discharged  about  two  months.  He  received  his  first 
promotion,  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  October 
24,  1861.  Passing  over  less  important  events,  we 
come  to  the  first  serious  battle  in  which  he  was 
engaged. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN 

Was  fought  on  Sunday,  September  14,  1862,  a  beauti 
ful,  bright  September  day.     The  enemy  were  in  pos 
session  of  the  crest  of  the  mountain,  where  the  old 
National  road  crossed  it.     The  army  of  McClellan, 
with   Burn  side   in   advance,  were   pressing  up   that 
mountain  by  the  National  road  as  its  center.    General 
Cox's  division  of  Burnside's  corps  was  in  advance. 
The  brigade  to  which  Lieutenant-colonel  Hayes  was 
attached  was  in  advance  of  the  division.     His  regi 
ment  was  in  advance  of  the  brigade.    He  was  ordered 
to  pass  up  a  mountain  path  on  the  left  of  the  National 
road  and  feel  for  the  enemy,  advancing  until  he  struck 
him;  to  push  him  up  the  mountain  if  he  could;  in 
short,  to  open  the  engagement.     Lieutenant-colonel' 
Hayes  pushed  into  the  woods,  came  upon  the  enemy's 
pickets,  received  their  fire,  and  drove  them  in.     He 
soon  saw  a  strong  force  of  the  enemy  coming  toward 
the  line  of  his  advance  from  a  neighboring  hill,  and 
went  to  meet  them.     Hayes  charged  into  that  force 
with  a  regimental  yell,  and,  after  a  fierce  fight,  drove 
them  out  of  the  woods  in  which  he  found  them,  into 
an  open  field  near  the  summit.     He  then  drove  them 


34  LIFE   OP  RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

across  the  field,  losing  many  men  and  capturing  and 
killing  many  of  the  enemy. 

Hayes,  having  just  given  the  command  for  a  third 
charge,  felt  a  stunning  blow,  and  found  that  a  large 
musket  ball  had  struck  his  left  arm  above  the  elbow, 
carrying  away  and  badly  fracturing  the  entire  bone. 
Fearing  an  artery  might  be  severed,  he  asked  a 
soldier  to  bandage  his  arm  above  the  elbow,  and 
a  few  minutes  after,  through  exhaustion,  he  fell. 
Recovering  from  a  state  of  unconsciousness  while 
down,  in  a  few  moments,  and  observing  that  his  men 
had  fallen  back  to  the  woods  for  shelter,  he  sprang  to 
his  feet,  and,  with  unusual  vehemence,  ordered  them 
to  come  forward,  which  they  did.  He  continued 
fighting  some  time  at  the  head  of  his  men ;  but  fall 
ing  a  second  time,  from  exhausted  strength,  he  kept 
on  giving  orders,  while  down,  to  fight  it  out. 

Major  Comly,  the  second  in  command,  then  came 
to  him  to  learn  the  orders  under  which  the  regiment 
was  fighting,  and  deeming  it  best  to  assume  com 
mand,  owing  to  the  critical  condition  of  Lieutenant- 
colonel  Hayes,  gave  orders  that  the  wounded  hero 
should  be  carried  from  the  field.  In  an  almost 
illegible  narrative,  written  with  the  left  hand  just 
after  the  battle,  we  find  this  modest  record,  by  the 
intrepid  sufferer  in  this  event :  "  "While  I  was  down 
I  had  considerable  talk  with  a  wounded  Confederate 
lying  near  me.  I  gave  him  messages  for  my  wife  and 
friends  in  case  I  should  not  get  up.  We  were  right 
jolly  and  friendly.  It  was  by  no  means  an  unpleas 
ant  experience/' 

The  enemy  in  this  action  continued  to  pour  a 
most  destructive  fire  of  musketry,  grape,  and  canis- 


IN   THE    FIELD.  35 

ter  into  the  Union  ranks.  Lieutenant-colonel  Hayes 
again  made  his  appearance  on  the  field  with  his 
wound  half  dressed,  and  fought  until  carried  off. 
Soon  after,  the  rest  of  the  brigade  coming  up,  a  brill 
iant  bayonet  charge  up  the  hill  dislodged  the  enemy 
and  drove  him  into  the  woods  beyond.  The  Twenty- 
third  regiment  in  this  engagement  lost  within  eight 
men  of  half  the  entire  force  engaged. 

South  Mountain  is  inscribed  on  all  the  standards  of 
this  gallant  regiment,  and  surrounds  with  a  sad  halo 
of  glory  the  names  of  the  living  and  the  graves  of 
the  dead. 

At  the  time  this  battle  was  fought,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Hayes  was  not  under  pay,  having  been  mus 
tered  out  of  the  Twenty-third  regiment  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  Seventy-ninth.  His  wound  preventing 
him  from  becoming  colonel  of  the  Seventy-ninth,  he 
was,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1862,  appointed  colonel 
of  his  own  regiment,  vice  Scammon,  promoted.  It 
was  while  at  home  recovering  from  his  wounds  that 
his  wealthy  uncle,  Sardis  Birchard,  urged  Colonel 
Hayes,  to  whom  he  was  devotedly  attached,  to  leave 
the  army,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  done  his  share, 
promising  to  himself  and  family  abundant  support; 
but  he  would  not  listen  to  the  suggestion,  and  before 
his  wounds  were  healed  went  back. 

AFTER  JOHN   MORGAN. 

In  July,  1863,  while  Colonel  Hayes,  under  superior 
officers  and  in  connection  with  other  forces,  was  en 
gaged  in  skirmishing,  scouting,  and  harassing  the 
enemy  in  Southwestern  Virginia,  an  episode  occurred 
which  illustrates  his  force  and  decision  of  character 


36  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

and  energy  in  action.     Happening  to  ride  to  Eayette- 
ville,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles  from  camp,  to  learn 
the  news,  he  was  startled  by  the  telegraph  operator 
with  the  intelligence  that  John  Morgan  was  in  Ohio, 
and  was  at  that  moment  making  for  Gallipolis   to 
recross  the  Ohio  river.     Here  was  a  cry  of  help  from 
home.     His  own  State  invaded,  and  his  own  friends 
and  kindred  in  danger !     His    decision    was   instan 
taneous  to  go  to  the  rescue.     He  sent  over  the  wires 
to  his  adjutant,  then  at  Charleston,  the  message :  "  Are 
there  any  steamboats  at  Charleston?"    And  being  in 
formed  there  were  two,  he  instantly  ordered  them  to 
be  sent  to  Luke  creek,  the  highest  navigable  point  on 
the  Kanawha.  .  Colonel  Hayes  then  galloped  back  to 
camp,  and,  after  bringing  all  his  powers  of  persuasion 
to  bear,  succeeded  in  getting  permission  to  take  two 
regiments  and  a  section  of  artillery,  and  go  in  pursuit 
of  Morgan.     In  thirty  minutes  after  the  orders  were 
read  to  the  soldiers,  the  column  was  on  its  march. 
The  road  was  mountainous,  the  darkness  dense,  the 
route  almost  impassable,  but  the  Kanawha  river  was 
reached  at  the  break  of  day.    The  steamers  were  both 
in  sight,  and  on  these  the  eager  men  and  the  artillery 
were  embarked.     By  daylight  the  next  morning  this 
timely  succor  was  at  Gallipolis.    That  town  was  saved 
from  a  rebel  raid,  and  the  hot  pursuit  of  John  Morgan 
commenced.     Warned  by  spies,  he  had  turned  his  re 
treat  in  the  direction  of  Pomeroy.    Hayes  re-embarked 
his  force,  and  steamed  up  after  him.     Again  disem 
barking  his  men,  Hayes  came  in  collision  with  the 
raider,  who  retreated  after  getting  a  taste  of  the  qual 
ity  of  his  adversary.     But  Morgan  being  beset  on  all 
sides  was  forced  to  surrender,  and  was  made  a  prisoner 


IN   THE   TTELD.  37 


with  many  of  his  men.  Their  next  raiding  was  done 
from  the  inside  to  the  outside  of  the  walls  of  the  Ohio 
penitentiary. 

BATTLE   OF   CLOYD   MOUNTAIN. 

In  the  spring  of  1864,  General  Crook  moved  with 
an  army  of  about  six  thousand  men  to  cut  the  main 
lines  of  communication  between  Richmond  and  the 
great  Southwest.  In  this  expedition  Colonel  Hayes 
commanded  a  brigade.  General  Crook,  who  is  called 
"Gray  Fox"  by  the  warriors  of  Sitting  Bull,  is  one 
of  the  shrewdest  generals  in  the  world  in  the  way  of 
tricking  an  enemy.  On  this  expedition  he  marched 
up  the  Kanawha,  and  sent  his  music  and  one  regiment 
toward  the  "White  Sulphur  Springs,  while  his  army 
went  the  other  way.  He  charged  his  music  to  make 
noise  enough  for  an  army  of  ten  thousand.  The  en 
emy,  who  were  fortified  on  the  road  by  which  Crook's 
army  was  actually  to  pass,  left  Fort  Breckinridge,  and 
marched  off  fifty  or  sixty  miles  in  the  direction  that 
Crook's  band  of  music  had  gone.  His  army  then 
hurried  on,  and  marched  right  into  the  fort  without 
firing  a  shot.  To  have  taken  it  without  stratagem 
would  have  cost  much  delay  and  many  lives.  In  the 
meantime,  the  enemy  hurried  back,  and,  collecting  an 
army  under  General  Jenkins,  fortified  a  position  on 
the  crest  of  Cloyd  mountain.  The  base  of  the  moun 
tain  was  skirted  with  a  stream  of  water  two  or  three 
feet  deep,  and  the  approach  to  it  was  through  a  meadow 
five  or  six  hundred  yards  wide.  The  enemy,  who 
were  strongly  intrenched,  opened  upon  Crook's  force 
so  soon  as  it  reached  the  road  that  was  within  range 


38  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

of  their  artillery.  It  was  evident  the  fortifications 
could  not  be  carried  without  very  determined  fight 
ing.  A  small  force,  after  making  a  stout  struggle, 
dropped  back  repulsed.  Crook  ordered  Colonel  Hayes' 
brigade  to  cross  Cloyd's  meadow,  charge  up  the  hill, 
and  take  the  batteries.  Hayes  formed  in  the  edge  of 
the  woods,  and  marched  out  with  as  perfect  a  line  as 
ever  was  formed  on  parade.  He  moved  on,  and  was 
soon  under  fire.  The  enemy  opened  heavily,  bring 
ing  down  men  along  the  whole  line.  A  slow  double- 
quick  was  ordered,  the  alignments  being  kept  good 
until  the  edge  of  the  woods  was  reached. 

The  fortifications  could  not  be  seen.  There  was 
only  in  sight  a  woody  hill,  and  below  it  a  stream  to 
cross.  Hayes,  the  brigade  following,  dashed  through 
the  creek  to  the  foot  of  the  last  hill,  which  was  so 
steep  that  the  cannon  could  not  be  depressed  suffi 
ciently  to  damage  them.  After  halting  for  a  minute 
to  take  breath,  the  brigade  charged,  with  a  terrific 
yell,  up  the  hill.  The  instant  they  passed  the  curve 
of  the  hill,  as  fearful  a  fire  met  them  as  men  are  ever 
called  to  face.  The  whole  line  seemed  falling,  officers 
and  men  going  down  by  scores.  But  not  a  man 
stopped;  all  who  were  not  hit  went  on.  Hayes 
shouted  to  his  men  to  push  on  to  the  enemy's  works. 
They  were  carried  by  assault,  many  of  the  enemy 
being  bayoneted  beneath  ingenious  barricades  that 
they  deemed  impregnable.  The  enemy  were  killed 
or  driven  out,  and  their  cannon  captured.  For  ten 
minutes  it  was  a  desperate,  give-and-take,  rough- 
and-tumble  fight.  The  artillerymen  attempted  to  re 
load  when  the  assaulting  party  was  not  ten  paces 
distant.  The  enemy  retreated  to  a  second  ridge  of 


IN   THE   FIELD.  39 


the  mountain,  and  made  a  determined  effort  to  form 
a  line,  but  the  pursuit  was  too  hot  for  the  effort  to  be 
successful.  Reinforcements  arriving,  they  endeavored 
to  make  a  third  stand,  but  were  easily  driven  off  in  full 
retreat.  Thus  ended  the  battle  on  the  mountain,  where 
the  enemy's  fort  on  its  summit  was  carried  by  storm. 

BATTLE    OF    WINCHESTER. 

What  is  known  as  the  first  battle  of  Winchester, 
fought  July  24,  1864,  illustrates  the  pluck  and  endur 
ance  of  Hayes  under  disaster.  Here,  as  in  the  last 
battle,  he  commanded  a  brigade  in  a  division  of  Gen 
eral  Crook's  army,  of  "West  Virginia.  Two  brigades, 
under  Colonel  Mulligan  and  Colonel  Hayes,  were  or 
dered  to  go  out  and  meet  what  was  supposed  to  be  a 
reconnoisance  in  force  of  the  enemy.  Hayes  was 
ordered  to  join  his  right  on  Mulligan's  left,  and 
charge  with  him.  They  were  to  attack  whatever  there 
was  in  front.  They  could  see  only  two  skirmish  lines 
in  front.  Hayes  soon  saw  appearances  of  the  enemy 
off*  on  the  left.  Mulligan  was  informed  there  were 
signs  of  an  enemy  forward  on  the  right.  Indications 
were  correct.  The  enemy  were  coming  down  upon 
them  in  overpowering  force  on  both  flanks  and  in 
front.  Mulligan  said  his  orders  were  to  go  forward, 
and  he  was  going  forward.  Hayes  thought  it  was  as 
well  to  go  forward  as  to  go  any  other  way,  as  there 
could  be  but  one  result.  Soon  after  charging,  the 
enemy  opened  a  deadly  fire  with  artillery  on  the  left 
flank,  and  infantry  close  in  front.  In  five  minutes 
Colonel  Mulligan  fell,  pierced  with  five  balls.  The 
enemy  had  double  the  force  in  front,  and  overlapped 
the  right  flank  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  This  was  a  better 


40  LIFE    OF    RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

place  to  be  out  of  than  in.  The  lines  melted  away 
under  the  destructive  fire.  The  deafening  roar  of  ar 
tillery  and  musketry  prevented  all  commands  from 
being  heard.  The  Hayes  brigade  fell  slowly  back  to 
a  hiil  inaccessible  to  cavalry.  There  it  formed,  and 
held  back  the  yelling  pursuers.  At  this  point  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Comly  was  wounded.  The  cavalry, 
whose  failure  to  furnish  information  of  the  presence 
of  the  enemy  had  brought  on  the  disaster,  had  disap 
peared  from  the  scene.  Colonel  Hayes'  brigade,  which 
was  exposed  to  the  cavalry  of  the  enemy,  marched  in 
a  half  square,  fighting  steadily  in  front  and  on  both 
flanks.  Once  the  brigade  was  concealed  in  a  belt  of 
woods  until  the  enemy's  cavalry  came  within  pistol- 
shot,  when  the  whole  line  suddenly  rose  and  poured  its 
fire  into  their  ranks.  After  that,  the  pursuit  ceased. 
From  morning  until  midnight,  Colonel  Hayes,  having 
lost  his  horse,  was  fighting  and  encouraging  his  men 
on  foot,  saving  his  command  from  annihilation,  and 
displaying  personal  bravery  of  the  highest  order. 

BATTLE   OF    BERRYVILLE. 

This  was  one  of  the  fiercest  fights  of  the  war.  It 
was  between  a  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi  division, 
under  General  Kershaw,  and  six  regiments  of  the 
Kanawha  division. 

The  occasion  of  this  battle  was  this  :  Sheridan  sent 
a  body  of  cavalry  to  get  in  the  rear  of  Early 's  army 
and  cut  off  his  supplies.  To  do  this  there  were  two 
roads  up  the  pike — one  through  Winchester  and  one 
ten  miles  east  of  Winchester.  Ten  miles  east  of  this 
place,  through  Berryville,  was  the  enemy's  headquar- 


IN   THE   FIELD. 


41 


ters,  and  Sheridan's  object  was  to  throw  a  force  past 
them  which  would  turn  and  strike  them  in  the  rear. 
In  order  to  protect  that  body  so  that  it  could  get  back 
again — not  be  cut  off  on  its  line  of  retreat — Crook 
was  ordered  to  take  possession  of  the  pike  where  the 
road  from  Winchester  crosses  it.  The  enemy,  under 
standing  the  plan,  moved  to  take  possession  of  the 
same  crossing.  They  first  attacked  with  a  small  force, 
and  were  driven  back.  Being  reinforced,  they  drove 
back  in  turn  the  regiments  in  advance  of  the  Union 
force.  Colonel  Hayes  had  a  line  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long  sheltered  behind  a  terrace  wall,  the  ground  in 
front  being  level  with  the  top  of  the  wall.  He  sat  on 
his  horse  watching  the  tumultuous  advance  of  the 
enemy.  The  Union  advance  lines,  being  driven  back 
in  precipitate  retreat,  ran  right  over  Hayes'  brigade. 
The  enemy  followed  close  on  their  heels.  Hayes  let 
them  get  within  two  rods,  when  the  whole  brigade 
rose,  and  with  a  yell  delivered  a  deadly  volley  at  the 
enemy's  legs.  They  then  jumped  upon  the  terrace 
and  charged  bayonet,  driving  the  pursuing  enemy 
back  like  a  flock  of  sheep.  He  pushed  them  to  their 
second  or  reserve  lines,  where  they  rallied  at  dark, 
and  stubbornly  maintained  their  ground. 

Colonel  Hayes'  brigade  went  at  double  quick  pace 
into  action,  their  leader  at  the  head  of  the  column. 
The  Twenty-third  and  Thirty-sixth  Ohio,  and  the 
Fifth  and  Thirteenth  Virginia,  constituted  at  this 
time  his  brigade.  From  dark  until  almost  ten  o'clock 
the  cannonading  was  continuous  and  the  fighting  ter 
rible.  Hayes,  although  never  more  exposed  to  dan 
ger,  enjoyed  the  grand  illumination  and  the  thrilling 


42  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

excitement.  Both  divisions  withdrew  at  the  same 
hour,  and  the  engagement  was  not  the  next  day 
renewed.  In  this  short  action  Colonel  Hayes,  hy  his 
courage  and  gallantry,  added  to  his  popularity  as  an 
officer  among  both  officers  and  men. 


FROM   MAJOR   TO   MAJOR-GENERAL.  43 


CHAPTEE  V. 

PROM   MAJOR  TO   MAJOR-GENERAL. 

equan — Morass — First  Over — Intrepidity  —  Official 
~  eports — Assault  on  Fisher's  Hill — Battle  of  Cedar 
Creek — Commands  a  Division — Promoted  on  Field — 
His  Wounds — A  Hundred  Days  under  Fire. 

BATTLE   OF    OPEQUAN. 

SHERIDAN'S  battle  of  Winchester,  or  Opequan,  was 
fought  on  the  19th  of  September,  1864.  The  battle 
had  a  bad  beginning,  but  a  glorious  ending.  There 
were  five  hours  of  staring  disaster,  and  five  of  in 
spiring  victory.  Sheridan,  in  assuming  the  offen 
sive,  in  September,  was  compelled  to  fight  Early  in  the 
latter's  chosen  and  particularly  advantageous  position, 
at  the  mouth  of  a  narrow  ravine  near  Winchester. 

Concerning  the  earlier,  or  disastrous  part  of  the 
engagement,  it  is  sufficient  for  our  present  purpose  to 
say  that  Sheridan  moved  all  except  one  corps  of  his 
entire  army  down  this  gorge,  deployed  in  the  valley 
beyond,  fought  a  bloody  fight,  and  was  driven  back 
in  confusion  along  his  line  of  advance.  At  noon  the 
enemy  were  rejoicing  over  the  victory,  and  their 
friends  in  Winchester  were  jubilant.  The  reserves 
of  Sheridan  were  sent  for.  General  Crook,  in  person, 
brought  the  reserve  corps  into  action  at  one  o'clock. 
He  made  for  the  enemy's  left  flank,  and  pushed  direct 
for  a  battery  on  their  extreme  left.  The  brigade  of 
Colonel  Hayes  was  in  front,  supported  by  Colonel 


44  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

White's  old  brigade.  The  order  was  to  walk  fast, 
keep  silent  until  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the 
gimp,  and  then  with  a  yell  charge  at  full  speed. 
These  brigades  had  passed  over  a  ridge  and  were 
just  ready  to  begin  the  rush,  when  they  came  upon 
a  deep  morass,  forty  yards  wide,  with  high  banks. 
The  enemy's  fire  now  broke  out  with  fury.  Of  course 
the  line  stopped.  To  stop  was  death,  to  go  on  was 
probably  the  same;  but  the  order  was  "Forward." 
Colonel  Hayes  was  the  first  to  plunge  in;  but  his 
horse,  after  frantic  struggling,  mired  down  hopelessly 
in  the  middle  of  the  boggy  stream.  He  sprang  oft' 
and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  enemy's  side.  The 
next  man  over  was  Lieutenant  Stearne,  adjutant  of 
the  Thirty-sixth  Ohio. 

Shot  and  shell  were  falling  in  the  water  as  they 
crossed,  and  were  still  falling.  When  Hayes  regained 
the  opposite  bank  he  motioned  rapidly,  with  his  cap 
in  hand,  for  his  men  to  come  over.  Some  held  back, 
but  many  plunged  into  the  bog,  and  struggled  across 
to  their  leader.  Some  sank  to  their  chins  while  hold 
ing  their  arms  and  ammunition  over  their  heads. 
Before  fifty  men  had  gotten  over,  Hayes  shouted : 
"  Men,  right  up  the  bank,"  and  there  were  the  rebel 
batteries  without  any  support.  So  the  artillerymen 
were  bayoneted  in  the  act  of  loading  their  guns.  They 
never  dreamed  that  any  Union  force  could  cross  the 
barrier  before  them.  The  batteries  were  captured, 
the  enemy's  position  successfully  flanked,  and  his 
whole  force  driven  back  five  hundred  yards  to  a  sec 
ond  line  of  defense.  Here,  strongly  posted,  he  deliv 
ered  a  fearfully  destructive  fire.  The  advancing  line 
was  brought  to  a  standstill  by  the  storm  of  grape  and 


FROM   MAJOR  TO   MAJOR-GENERAL.  45 


balls.  Officers  in  advance  were  falling  faster  than  oth 
ers,  but  all  were  suffering.  Things  began  to  look  dark. 
At  the  most  critical  moment,  a  large  body  of  Sheri 
dan's  splendid  cavalry,  with  swords  drawn,  wound 
slowly  around  the  right,  then  at  a  trot,  and  finally,  with 
shouts,  at  a  gallop,  charged  right  into  the  rebel  lines. 
Hayes,  now  in  command  of  the  division,  his  division 
commander  having  fallen,  pushed  on,  and  the  enemy 
in  utter  confusion  fled.  Crook's  command  carried  the 
forts  which  covered  the  heights,  and  Hayes  led  the 
advance  of  that  command.  His  division  entered  Win 
chester  in  pursuit  of  Early  far  in  advance  of  all  other 
troops.  The  spirit  of  Early's  brave  army  was  broken. 
Its  loss  in  this  battle  was  nearly  seven  thousand  men. 
The  day  following  the  battle  of  Opequan,  Stanton 
telegraphed  Sheridan :  "  Please  accept  for  yourself 
and  your  gallant  army  the  thanks  of  the  President 
and  the  department  for  your  great  battle  and  brilliant 
victory  of  yesterday."  An  official  report  of  Colonel 
Comly,  commanding  the  Twenty-third  Ohio,  thus  re 
fers  to  Colonel  Hayes,  division  commander:  "He  is 
everywhere  exposing  himself  recklessly,  as  usual.  He 
was  the  first  one  over  the  slough ;  he  has  been  in  ad 
vance  of  the  line  half  the  time  since;  his  adjutant- 
general  has  been  severely  wounded;  men  are  drop 
ping  all  around  him;  but  he  rides  through  it  all  as 
if  he  had  a  charmed  life." 

FISHER'S  HILL. 

The  assault  on  South  Mountain,  or  Fisher's  Hill, 
occurred  on  the  22d  of  September,  three  days  after 
the  battle  of  Opequan.  Sheridan  was  in  hot  pursuit 
of  Early,  and  had  followed  him  up  the  Shenandoah 


46  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

valley,  overtaking  him  in  position  at  Fisher's  Hill. 
This  is  a  ridge  stretching  across  the  valley  where  it  is 
only  about  three  miles  wide.  There  is  a  creek  run 
ning  in  front  of  the  ridge.  Early  had  fortified  the 
ridge,  and  was  in  strong  position.  Sheridan  was  dis 
posed  to  attack  him  in  front,  trusting  to  the  demoral 
ization  from  the  recent  defeat  for  an  easy  victory. 

Crook  insisted  upon  trying  to  turn  their  left  flank. 
It  was  finally  determined  that  it  could  be  done.  He 
was  ordered  to  take  Hayes'  division,  which  led  the 
advancing  column.  Crook  and  Hayes  rode  side  by 
side  at  the  head  of  the  men.  Pretty  soon  Crook  and 
every  officer,  except  Hayes,  dismounted.  The  latter 
had  a  horse  that  could  go  wherever  a  man  could. 
The  command  went  up  mountains,  pushed  their  way 
through  woods,  and  slid  down  ravines  and  gorges. 
"When  the  enemy's  left  was  supposed  to  be  passed, 
they  turned  by  the  flank  and  bore  down  on  his  rear. 
Hayes  galloped  down  a  ravine,  flanked  by  mountains, 
until  he  came  right  upon  the  enemy's  guns.  He  rode 
back,  ordered  his  division  to  charge  with  a  yell,  and 
the  enemy,  seized  with  a  panic,  fled.  The  charge  was 
one  of  great  impetuosity,  each  man  trying  to  reach 
the  intrenchments  first.  Every  gun  was  captured. 
The  brilliancy  of  this  victory  consisted  in  flanking 
the  enemy  from  the  side  of  a  mountain,  where  Early 
said  only  a  crow  could  go.  But  Colonel  Hayes  climbed 
there  on  horseback,  at  the  head  of  his  command. 

CEDAR   CREEK. 

On  the  19th  of  October,  1864,  was  fought  the  battle 
of  Cedar  creek,  so  memorable  in  the  annals  of  war. 
It  wiped  out  Early  and  his  army.  It  gave  the  rebel 


FROM  MAJOR  TO  MAJOR  GENERAL.         47 

general  Gordon  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate.  It 
made  Sheridan  lieutenant-general.  It  made  Colonel 
Hayes  a  brigadier-general  and  Governor  of  Ohio. 

Sheridan,  supposing  Early's  army  too  much  broken 
by  recent  defeats  to  be  dangerous,  had  gone  on  a  visit 
to  "Washington,  leaving  his  force  in  command  of  Gen 
eral  Wright.  It  was  posted  near  Middletown,  in  the 
rear  of  Cedar  creek,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Win 
chester  pike.  Ten  miles  to  the  westward,  beyond  the 
creek,  were  the  enemy's  camps.  Two  things  induced 
Early  to  risk  one  more  battle — the  absence  of  Sheri 
dan,  and  his  own  reinforcement  with  twelve  thousand 
men.  Early  left  camp  on  the  night  of  the  18th,  and, 
passing  round  with  his  entire  army  between  Massa- 
nutten  mountain  and  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenan- 
doah,  forded  the  Shenandoah  at  midnight,  and  noise 
lessly  formed  in  line  of  battle  in  the  rear  and  on  the 
flank  of  the  Union  army.  The  plan  of  attack  was  a 
bold  one,  and  seemed  the  inspiration  of  genius. 
The  ford  that  gave  the  enemy  a  crossing,  which 
should  have  been  well  guarded  by  cavalry,  was  stu 
pidly  left  exposed.  At  daylight,  while  Thoburn's 
division  were  sleeping  in  their  camps,  Early's  onslaught 
was  made.  Generals  Gordon,  Pegram,  Kcrshaw,  and 
Wharton  charged  with  the  rebel  yell  upon  the  left 
rear  of  Crook's  entire  command.  The  assault,  under 
the  circumstances,  was  inevitably  successful,  and  the 
whole  Union  force  was  hurled  back  on  the  Nineteenth 
corps  and  the  Kanawha  division,  commanded  by  Col 
onel  Hayes.  The  enemy  overlapped  both  flanks,  and 
pushed  forward  with  irresistible  impetuosity.  Crook's 
command  had  already  lost  seven  pieces  of  artillery, 
and  was  in  rapid  retreat.  The  men  meeting  the  ene- 


MI  i;  or  jM.Tin:fM--oni>  r,.  HA*. 


my's  charge,  knowing  that  they  were  outflanked  and 

111':  enemy  had  gotten  in  their  rear,  fought  desper 
ately,  but  not  hopefully.  Tho  whole  lino  was  pushed 
slowly  hack.  Colonel  Hayes,  on  Hoeing  hi-.  right 
breaking  up,  rodo  ovor  and  witJi  voliomorioo  ^avo 
to  :-,land  firm.  But  tho  lino  moltod  away,  loav- 
lii  in  alono  and  oxponod.  A  wholo  volley  camo 
aimed  at  liim,  filling  tlic  air  and  killing  IJ'IH  horso  with 
twenty  halls.  Tho  horso  #°'no  at  rrroat  Hj>ood  when 
it  I'd],  thi-ow  it«  riclor  with  ^roat  violence  to  tho 
ground,  dislocating  an  ankle  and  hadly  hruiHing 
liim  i'rom  the  head  down.  Ho  ItXW,  a.nd  though 
fired  at  hy  the  pnr-jiin^  en(:rny  at  forty  paces,  en- 
rr;ip«:d  further  wounds  or  capture.  Colonel  Hayes 
procured  the  horso  of  his  orderly,  and  with  groat 
exertion  gradually  hrought  his  men  to  a  stand. 
Hero  they  were  alternately  preparing  their  hrcal: 
and  when  orders  were  given,  instantaneously  forming 
lines. 

At  ten  O'clock  the  Union  army  received  a  reinforce 
ment  more  powerful  than  was  the  enemy's  of  twelve 
thousand  men.  Sheridan  had  come,  and  with  him 
confidence  had  come.  He  almost  instantaneously  in 
spired  a  hoaton  army  with  his  own  elect  ric  energy  and 
uneomjiiorable  hope.  "  -Boys,  \vomu:-.t  .go  back  to  our 
carnjjs,"  lie  said;  and  they  went.  Tho  army  was  re- 
on-afcd  into  a  compact,  advancing,  siggi-essivo  organi 
zation.  "  Tho  whole  line  will  advance,"  said  Sheridan, 
and  it  advanced. 

The  enemy  was  charged  a  first  and  a  second  time, 
with  infantry  in  tho  center  and  cavalry  on  the  left  and 
right.  Custer's  cavalry  kept  swooping  down  on  tho 


FROM    MAJOR   TO    MA. TO II  (JKNKRAL.  49 

rebel  flank,  gathering  them  in  as  a  sickle  gathers 
grain.  The  gallant  Colonel  Hayes,  too  modest  to  seek 
promotion,  though  long  discharging  the  duties  of  £ 
major-general,  as  commander  of  a  veteran  division, 
fought  in  the  center,  forcing  back  the  rebel  line  to 
Cedar  creek.  Here  it  broke  in  confusion,  abandoning 
seventy  pieces  of  artillery,  arms,  camps,  and  transpor 
tation.  The  pursuit  ceased  not  until  there  was  no 
longer  an  enemy  to  pursue.  Early  this  time  "stayed 
whipped."  In  the  Shenandoah  valley  lie  ceased  to 
take  much  interest  in  subsequent  events. 

It  was  on  the  field  of  this  most  complete  victory  of 
the  war  that  Sheridan  clasped  the  hand  of  Hayes  and 
said:  "  Colonel,  from  this  day  forward  you  will  be  a 
brigadier-general/'  Ten  days  after  the  battle  the 
commission  came.  The  gallant  Crook  presented  him 
with  the  insignia  of  his  now  rank,  and  he  wore  them. 
On  March  1  ••',  1865,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
brevet  major-general  "  for  gallant  and  distinguished 
services  during  the  campaign  of  1864  in  West  Vir 
ginia,  and  particularly  at  the  battles  of  Fisher's  Hill 
and  Cedar  Creek,  Virginia." 

General  Hayes  was  wounded  four  times  in  battle. 
From  one  wound  he  haw  never  entirely  recovered, 
lie  was  struck  by  a  shell,  just  below  the  knee,  while; 
on  horseback,  lie  did  not  get  off  his  horse  at  the 
time,  but  remained  at  the  front  throughout  the  battle. 
The -wound  DOW  troubles  him  when  ascending  stairs* 
.According  to  the  excellent  authority  of  Adjutant- 
General  Hastings,  Hayes  was  under  fire  sixty  days  in 
1864.  lie  must  therefore  have  been  exposed  to  death 
on  one  hundred  days  during  the  war. 

A  soldier  who  would  thus  risk  life  and  limb  to  pro- 


50  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

serve  the  Union  is  perhaps  entitled  to  have  something 
to  say  concerning  the  government  of  it.  He  who  is 
willing  to  die  for  the  republic,  will  see  that  the  repub 
lic  suffers  no  harm. 

The  qualities  of  General  Hayes  as  a  soldier  will  be 
reviewed  when  we  come  to  speak  of  his  characteristics 
as  a  civil  magistrate  and  as  a  man. 


IN   CONGRESS.  51 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IN   CONGRESS. 

Nomination — Refuses  to  Leave  Army — Election  Incident 
— Election — Course  in  Congress — Services  on  Library 
Committee  —  Votes  on  Various  Questions  —  Submits 
Plan  of  Constitutional  Amendments — Renominated  by 
Acclamation — Re-elected  by  Increased  Majority — Goer- 
whelmed  with  Soldiers'  Letters  —  Character  as  Con 
gressman. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  1864,  while  General  Hayes 
was  absent  from  Ohio  in  the  field,  he  was  nominated 
by  the  Republican  Convention  of  the  Second  Congres 
sional  District  of  Cincinnati  for  Congress.  This  was 
the  result  of  the  spontaneous  action  of  his  friends, 
and  was  brought  about  through  their  agency  alone. 
The  nomination  was  neither  sought  nor  desired.  The 
following  extract  from  a  letter  written  in  camp,  and 
bearing  date  July  30,  1864,  makes  known  the  then 
existing  state  of  the  case : 

"As  to  the  canvass  that  occurs,  I  care  nothing  at 
all  about  it ;  neither  for  the  nomination  nor  for  the 
election.  It  was  merely  easier  to  let  the  thing  take 
its  own  course  than  to  get  up  a  letter  declining  to 
run,  and  then  to  explain  it  to  everybody  who  might 
choose  to  bore  me  about  it." 

The  first  information  of  the  nomination  for  Con 
gress  was  conveyed  to  General  Hayes  through  the  let 
ter  of  a  friend  written  the  day  after  the  convention 
met,  which  information  was  received  on  Monday, 


52  LIFE    OF    RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

August  22d,  while  preparing  for  battle,  and  on  the 
same  day  he  did  a  "  good  thing  "  in  the  way  of  taking 
prisoners  while  charging  on  the  rebel  lines.  Two 
days  after,  with  the  enemy  in  front,  he  wrote  this 
"  private  "  letter  on  the  subject  of  going  home  to  can 
vass: 

CAMP  OF  SHERIDAN'S  ARMY, 
NEAR  CHARLESTOAVN,  VA.,  August  24,  1864. 

FRIEND  S. : — Your  favor  of  the  7th  came  to  hand  on  Monday. 
It  was  the  first  I  had  heard  of  the  doings  of  the  Second  District 
Convention.  My  thanks  for  your  attention  and  assistance  in 
the  premises.  I  cared  very  little  about  being  a  candidate,  but 
having  consented  to  the  use  of  my  name  I  preferred  to  succeed. 
Your  suggestion  about  getting  a  furlough  to  take  the  stump  was 
certainly  made  without  reflection.  An  officer  fit  for  duty  who 
at  this  crisis  would  abandon  his  post  to  electioneer  for  a  seat  in 
Congress  ought  to  be  scalped.  You  may  feel  perfectly  sure  I 
shall  do  no  such  thing.  We  are,  and  for  two  weeks  past  have 
been,  in  the  immediate  presence  of  a  large  rebel  army.  We 
have  skirmishing  and  small  affairs  constantly.  I  am  not  posted 
in  the  policy  deemed  wise  at  headquarters,  and  can  't  guess  as 
to  the  prospects  of  a  general  engagement.  The  condition  and 
spirit  of  this  army  are  good  and  improving.  I  suspect  the  en 
emy  are  sliding  around  us  toward  the  Potomac.  If  they  cross 
we  shall  pretty  certainly  have  a  meeting. 

Sincerely, 

E.  B.  HAYES. 

An  incident  of  this  canvass  caused  at  the  time  it  oc 
curred  intense  feeling  and  indignation.  The  Democrats 
were  having  a  large  mass  meeting  in  Cincinnati,  with 
an  immense  procession.  Among  the  banners  or  trans 
parencies  carried  in  the  procession  was  one  large, 
coarsely-executed  affair,  representing  General  Hayes 
dodging  bullets  while  running  from  the  enemy.  As 
Hayes  was  at  that  very  moment  at  the  front  fighting 
the  enemy,  this  assault  in  the  rear  was  not  deemed  by 


IN   CONGRESS.  53 


Union-loving  men  to  fall  within  the  rules  of  legiti 
mate  political  warfare.  Some  soldiers  of  the  "Old 
Kanawha"  division  happening  to  be  at  home  recov 
ering  from  wounds,  had  their  indignation  aroused  to 
such  an  uncontrollable  pitch  that  they  insisted  upon 
ignominiously  trampling  down  the  libelous  transpar 
ency  and  its  bearer.  They  had  seen  General  Hayes 
bare  his  breast  a  hundred  times  to  the  bullet-storm  of 
battle,  and  thought  they  were  better  judges  oi  what 
constituted  courage  than  men  who  stayed  at  home 
occupying  their  time  in  passing  resolutions  that  the 
war  was  a  "failure."  These  old  veteran  comrades  of 
Hayes  were  moving  in  compact  line  to  charge  on  the 
procession,  when  a  number  of  good  citizens,  in  the 
interest  of  order  and  to  prevent  a  riot,  had  the  ob 
noxious  banner  removed.  It  is  but  just  to  say  that 
Democrats  of  the  better  sort  totally  disapproved  of 
this  public  indecency  and  excuseless  outrage. 

During  the  canvass  for  Congress,  and  while  in  the 
thickest  of  the  bloody  fight  at  Opequari,  the  soldiers 
under  General  Hayes  kept  crying  out :  "  We  will  gain 
a  victory  to-day,  Colonel,  and  elect  you  to  Congress ;" 
"  One  more  charge,  and  you  go  to  Congress  ! "  These 
brave  defenders  of  the  Republic  well  knew  the  effect 
of  a  Union  victory  upon  a  pending  election.  When 
the  soldiers'  vote  was  taken  on  Tuesday,  the  llth  of 
October,  not  a  man  in  the  Twenty-third  or  Thirty- 
sixth  Ohio  regiment  voted  the  Democratic  ticket,  and 
but  fifiy-three  voted  the  Peace  ticket  in  the  entire 
division  commanded  by  General  Hayes.  The  result 
of  his  first  contest  for  Congress,  or  rather  candidacy, 
for  there  was  no  contest  on  his  part,  was  his  triumph 
ant  election  by  a  majority  of  two  thousand  four  huu- 


54  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

dred  and  fifty-five  votes.  His  competitor  was  Joseph 
C.  Butler,  a  banker,  capitalist,  and  most  respectable 
gentleman.  Eight  days  after  the  election,  the  battle 
of  Cedar  Creek  was  fought,  so  that  the  news  of  two 
victories  came  to  the  faithful  soldier  at  the  same  time. 
Conducting  a  congressional  campaign  on  the  front, 
rear,  and  flanks  of  the  enemy,  worked  well.  To  Hayes 
the  cause  of  the  Union  was  such  a  sacred  cause  that 
he  could  not  cease  fighting  the  enemies  of  that  Union 
so  long  as  there  remained  an  armed  enemy  to  fight. 

The  war  being  ended,  he  took  his  seat  on  the  first 
day  of  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress, 
which  assembled  December  4,  1865.  Among  the  able 
or  notable  men  in  that  Congress  were  Shellabarger, 
Bingham,  Schenck,  Spaulding,  and  Garfield,  from 
Ohio,  and  Thad.  Stevens,  Conkling,  Kerr,  E.  B.  Wash- 
burne,  A.  H.  Rice,  Raymond,  Niblack,  John  A.  Gris- 
wold,  Farnsworth,  Orth,  Cullom,  Dawes,  Blaine,  Yoor- 
hees,  and  Randall,  from  other  States.  The  first  session 
was  mainly  occupied  with  the  question  of  reconstruc 
tion.  The  central  questions  during  the  subsequent 
sessions  were  those  growing  out  of  the  impeachment 
of  President  Johnson.  General  Hayes  voted  consist 
ently  with  his  party  on  these  two  classes  of  questions. 
He  was  the  only  new  member,  except  one,  who  was 
given  the  chairmanship  of  a  committee,  being  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  joint  committee  of  the  House  on 
Library.  The  other  members  were  Win.  D.  Kelley,  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  Calvin  T.  Hurlburd,  of  New  York. 
As  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  Library  of  the 
United  States,  to  employ  the  language  of  its  accom 
plished  librarian,  he  had  "a  clear  discernment  and 
quick  apprehension  of  all  things  that  needed  to  be 


IN    CONGRESS.  55 

done  ; "  he  "  threw  his  influence  in  favor  of  the  most 
liberal  and  permanent  improvement." 

During  his  term  of  service  on  the  committee,  the 

O 

Library  was  expanded  by  the  addition  of  two  wings, 
increasing  threefold  its  space.  The  "Force  Historical 
Library"  was  added,  to  the  acquisition  of  which  Gen 
eral  Hayes  devoted  months  of  zealous  labor.  It  is 
now  one  of  the  most  valuable  parts  of  the  great  Li 
brary.  He  procured  in  the  House  the  passage  of  the 
Senate  bill  to  transfer  the  Library  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institution  to  the  Library  of  Congress.  He  intro 
duced  a  joint  resolution  to  extend  the  privileges  of 
the  Library  to  a  larger  class  of  public  officers.  He 
reported  back  and  recommended  the  passage  of  a 
copyright  bill  for  securing  to  the  Library  copies  of 
all  books,  pamphlets,  maps,  etc.,  published  in  the 
United  States. 

In  dealing  with  the  subject  of  art  while  on  this 
committee,  Hayes  showed  artistic  taste  and  judgment. 
He  voted  to  reject  works  without  merit,  such  as 
busts  and  portraits,  and  favored  giving  government 
commissions  to  real  artists  of  conceded  genius  and  es 
tablished  standing. 

One  of  the  first  votes  of  General  Hayes  in  Congress 
was  cast  in  favor  of  this  resolution  : 

"  That  the  public  debt  created  during  the  late  re- 
.bellion  was  contracted  upon  the  faith  and  honor  of  the 
nation  ;  that  it  is  sacred  and  inviolate,  and  must  and 
ought  to  be  paid,  principal  and  interest;  and  that  any 
attempt  to  repudiate  or  in  any  manner  impair  or  scale 
the  said  debt  should  be  universally  discountenanced 
by  the  people,  and  promptly  rejected  by  Congress  if 
proposed." 


56  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

Early  in  the  session  a  resolution  was  introduced 
"  that  the  committee  on  appropriations  be  instructed 
to  bring  in  a  bill  increasing  the  compensation  of  mem 
bers  of  Congress."  Mr.  Hayes  voted  for  Mr.  E.  B. 
"Washburne's  motion  to  lay  the  resolution  on  the  table. 
This  is  the  whole  of  his  record  on  the  back  pay  and 
front  pay  questions.  General  Hayes  during  the  ses 
sion  voted  for  a  resolution  commending  President 
Johnson  for  declining  to  accept  presents,  and  con 
demning  the  practice  as  demoralizing  in  its  tendencies 
and  destructive  of  public  confidence.  This  vote  needs 
no  explanation  to  enable  it  to  be  understood. 

He  also  submitted  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  read,  considered,  and  agreed  to  : 

"  That  the  committee  on  military  affairs  be  instructed 
to  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  providing  by  law 
for  punishing  by  imprisonment  or  otherwise  any  per 
son  who,  as  agent  or  attorney,  shall  collect  from  the 
government  money  due  to  officers,  soldiers,  or  sailors, 
or  to  their  widows  or  orphans,  for  services  in  the 
army  or  navy,  or  for  pensions  or  bounties,  and  who 
shall  fraudulently  convert  the  same  to  his  own  use ; 
and  to  report  by  bill  or  otherwise." 

This  was  timely  action  aimed  to  remedy  what  has 
since  became  a  gross  abuse  and  most  serious  evil.  Its 
purpose  was  to  check  robbery  and  secure  to  soldiers 
and  sailors  their  own. 

In  1865,  General  Hayes  submitted  to  leading  Re 
publicans  in  Congress,  and  subsequently  to  the  Re 
publican  caucus,  these  resolutions,  which  became  the 
basis  of  the  action  of  the  party : 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  caucus  that 
the  best  if  not  the  only  mode  of  obtaining  from  the 


IN   CONGRESS.  57 


States  lately  in  rebellion  guarantees  which  will  be 
irreversible  is  by  amendments  of  the  national  consti 
tution. 

"  Resolved.  That  such  amendments  to  the  national 
constitution  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  ought  to  be 
submitted  to  the  house  for  its  action  at  as  early  a  day 
as  possible,  in  order  to  propose  them  to  the  several 
states  during  the  present  sessions  of  their  legislatures. 

"  Resolved,  That  an  amendment,  basing  representa 
tion  on  voters  instead  of  population,  ought  to  be 
promptly  acted  upon,  and  the  judiciary  committee  is 
requested  to  prepare  resolutions  for  that  purpose,  and 
submit  them  to  the  house  as  soon  as  practicable." 

When  the  ratification  of  the  amendments  taking 
their  origin  from  these  resolutions  became  a  tnatter  of 
supreme  concern,  Mr.  Orth  and  Mr.  Cullom,  now  the 
Republican  candidates  for  Governor  in  Indiana  and 
Illinois,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Hayes,  drafted  the 
following  letter,  which  was  signed  by  Republican 
members  of  Congress  and  forwarded  to  Governor 
Brownlow,  of  Tennessee : 

"  The  undersigned  members  of  Congress  respectfully 
suggest,  that,  as  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
you  call  a  special  session  of  the  legislature  of  your 
state,  for  the  purpose  of  ratifying  the  constitutional 
amendment  submitted  by  the  present  Congress  to  the 
several  states  for  ratification,  believing  that  upon  such 
ratification  this  Congress  will,  during  its  present  ses 
sion,  recognize  the  present  state  government  of  Ten 
nessee  and  admit  the  state  to  representation  in  both 
houses  of  Congress." 

The  session  of  the  legislature  was  called,  the  four 
teenth  amendment  ratified,  and  the  Tennessee  mem- 


58  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

bers  admitted  to  seats  in  Congress  in  July,  1866. 
This  ratification  was  the  one  required  to  render  the 
amendment  valid. 

In  the  fall  of  1865,  General  Hayes  delivered  very 
earnest  political  speeches  in  about  twenty  counties 
in  Ohio,  in  advocacy  of  the  election  of  his  military 
comrade,  General  Jacob  D.  Cox,  as  governor  of  the 
state.  We  find  many  of  these  speeches  partially 
reported,  and  from  one  delivered  in  the  West  end,  in 
Cincinnati,  September  28,  we  take  this  extract: 

"  The  Democratic  plan  of  reorganization  is  this : 
The  rebels,  having  laid  down  their  arms  and  aban 
doned  their  attempt  to  break  up  the  Union,  are  now 
entitled,  as  a  matter  of  right,  to  be  restored  to  all  the 
rights,  political  and  civil,  which  they  enjoyed  before 
the  rebellion,  precisely  as  if  they  had  remained  loyal. 
They  are  to  vote,  to  hold  office,  to  bear  arms,  imme 
diately  and  unconditionally.  There  is  to  be  no  confis 
cation  and  no  punishment,  either  for  leaders  or  fol 
lowers — no  amendment  or  change  of  the  constitution 
by  way  of  guaranty  against  future  rebellion — no  in 
demnity  for  the  past,  and  no  security  for  the  future. 
The  Union  party  objects  to  this  plan,  because  it  wants, 
before  rebels  shall  again  be  restored  to  power,  an 
amendment  to  the  constitution  which  shall  remove  all 
vestiges  of  slavery,  and  an  amendment  which  shall 
equalize  representation  between  the  States  having  a 
large  negro  population  and  the  States  whose  negro 
population  is  small." 

In  August,  1866,  General  Hayes  received  the  in 
dorsement  of  a  renomination  to  Congress  by  acclama 
tion.  There  was  no  opposing  candidate.  He  entered 
at  once  into  the  canvass.  He  delivered  a  speech  almost 


IN   CONGRESS,  59 


every  afternoon  or  evening  until  the  clay  of  the  elec 
tion.  He  frequently  spoke  outside  of  his  own  district, 
to  aid  his  friends.  The  questions  at  issue  were  the 
reconstruction  measures  of  Congress  and  of  President 
Johnson,  and  the  merits  of  the  new  constitutional 
amendments.  In  a  public  speech  delivered  in  the 
Seventeenth  Ward,  in  Cincinnati,  September  7,  1866, 
he  discussed  at  great  length  the  questions  of  the  day. 
In  conclusion  he  said 

"  The  Union  party  is  prepared  to  make  great  sacri 
fices  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  for  the  sake  of  peace 
and  for  the  sake  of  union,  but  submission  to  what  is 
wrong  can  never  be  the  foundation  of  a  real  peace  or  a 
lasting  union.  They  can  have  no  other  sure  founda 
tion  but  the  principles  of  eternal  justice.  The  Union 
men  therefore  say  to  the  South:  i  We  ask  nothing 
but  what  is  right ;  we  will  submit  to  nothing  that  is 
wrong.'  With  undoubting  confidence  we  submit  the 
issue  to  the  candid  judgment  of  the  patriotic  people 
of  the  country,  under  the  guidance  of  that  Providence 
which  has  hitherto  blessed  and  preserved  the  Nation." 

The  canvass  was  an  active  and  exciting  one ;  but 
General  Hayes  was  re-elected  over  a  competitor  of  so 
high  standing  as  Theodore  Cook,  by  a  majority  of 
two  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-six.  It  is  notice 
able  that  while  there  was  a  Republican  loss  of  seven 
hundred  in  the  first  district,  compared  with  the  vote 
for  Congressmen  in  1864,  in  the  second  district  there 
was  a  gain  of  one  hundred  over  the  vote  of  two 
years  before. 

General  Hayes  took  his  seat  in  the  Fortieth 
Congress,  which  convened  March  11,  1867.  He  was 
re-appointed  chairman  of  the  library  committee,  with 


60  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFOKD   B.   HAYES. 

John  D.  Baldwin,  of  Massachusetts,  and  J.  V.L.  Pruyn, 
of  New  York,  as  associate  members.  General  Hayes' 
three  years  in  Congress  were  almost  continuously  em 
ployed  in  exacting  labors  in  looking  after  the  pen 
sions  and  pay  of  soldiers,  and  in  making  provision 
for  their  families.  Cincinnati  had  sent  a  great  many 
soldiers  into  the  war,  and  all  who  had  wants  sent  their 
petitions  to  the  only  representative  of  Hamilton  county 
who  had  served  in  the  army.  The  soldiers  of  his  old 
division,  scattered  over  the  country,  sent  their  applica 
tions  to  him  as  a  sympathizing  friend.  He  had  as  man}? 
as  seven  hundred  cases  of  this  kind  on  hand  at  one  time. 
His  time  was  therefore  necessarily  consumed  in  run 
ning  to  the  departments  and  in  answering  soldiers' 
correspondence.  This  service  of  love  was  of  course 
gratuitously  and  most  cheerfully  rendered;  but  it 
withdrew  him  more  or  less  from  his  duties  on  the 
floor  of  Congress. 

He  was  not  consequently  a  speechmaker  in  Congress, 
but  a  business-doer.  His  innate  good  sense  taught 
him  that  the  public  business  was  pushed  forward,  not 
by  talking  much,  but  by  talking  little.  Like  Schurz, 
who  became  the  intellectual  leader  of  the  Senate,  like 
Senator  Edmunds  and  most  strong  men,  he  kept  silent 
while  new  to  the  business  of  legislation.  He  was 
constantly  consulted  by  the  chief  men  in  his  party 
because  he  possessed  that  most  essential  quality  in  a 
public  man — good  judgment.  He  did  no  talking  for 
himself,  but  an  immense  deal  of  working  for  others. 
Every  soldier  was  his  constituent,  whether  he  lived 
in  Maine  or  Nebraska.  He  placed  self  not  first, 
but  last. 

He  had  no  thought  of  fame  or  higher  place,  but 


IN   CONGRESS.  61 


silently  served  those  that  loved  him,  and  to  the 
maimed  or  needy  tried  to  make  the  burdens  and 
loads  of  life  lighter.  He  doubtless  thought  that  "he 
who  lives  a  great  truth  is  incomparably  greater  than 
he  who  but  speaks  it." 


62  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ELECTED    GOVERNOR   OF    OHIO. 

Party  of  State  Eights — Their  Convention — Platform — 
Nomination  of  Thurman — Republican  Convention  and 
Platform — Nomination  of  Hayes— Platform — Opening 
Speech  at  Lebanon — Thurman  at  Waverly — National 
Interest  aro used  —  Hayes  Victorious  —  Inaug ural  — 
First  Annual  Message — Second  Annual  Message. 

THE  questions  at  issue  in  the  great  political  canvass 
of  1867,  in  Ohio,  were  closely  allied  to  the  one  whether 
the  National  Government  had  a  constitutional  right  to 
maintain  its  existence.  It  was  many  years  after  the 
war  of  the  Rebellion  before  the  Democratic  party  could 
be  induced  to  admit  that  the  war  had  settled  anything. 
The  question  of  State  or  National  supremacy  or  sov 
ereignty,  settled  a  hundred  times  by  argument  and 
twice  by  arms,  was  still  persistently  argued  by  them 
as  an  open  question.  The  State  Supremacy  or  State 
Rights  party  fought  the  constitution  at  the  time  of 
its  adoption,  on  the  ground  that  it  established  a  su 
preme  central  government,  and  were  defeated.  They 
opposed  putting  down  the  Whisky  Rebellion,  in  Penn 
sylvania,  under  the  leadership  of  Jefferson  and  Ran 
dolph,  and  were  outvoted  in  the  Cabinet  by  Washing 
ton,  Hamilton,  and  Knox.  They  forced  their  disin 
tegration  doctrines  into  the  Supreme  Court,  and  were 
there  vanquished  by  the  resistless  logic  of  Chief  Jus 
tice  Marshall.  The  same  old  doctrine  assumed  the 


ELECTED    GOVERNOR. OF   OHIO.  63 

form  of  nullification  under  the  teachings  of  Calhouii 
in  South  Carolina,  and  was  stamped  out  by  Jackson. 
It  appeared  again  in  the  great  debate  between  Hayne 
and  Webster,  and  was  annihilated,  so  far  as  argument 
can  put  an  end  to  any  heresy.  But  it  reappeared  in 
1861,  with  Davis,  Stephens,  Lee,  and  Breckenridge  as 
its  most  powerful  advocates  and  exponents. 

The  identical  questions  discussed  in  Washington's 
Cabinet,  when  there  was  a  Whisky  Insurrection  to  be 
put  down,  were  discussed  by  Lincoln  and  Davis,  by 
Meade  and  Lee,  at  Gettysburg,  and  by  Grant  and 
Pembertou,  at  Yicksburg.  Is  a  State  or  is  the  Repub 
lic  supreme,  has  been  the  central  question  dividing 
parties  for  a  hundred  years.  The  Democracy  are  still 
talking  about  "sovereign  and  independent  states,"  as 
if  there  were  more  than  one  sovereign  State  on  the 
continent — the  Republic  itself. 

The  Democratic  State  Convention,  which  met  at 
Columbus,  January  8,  1867,  forgetting  that  "war 
legislates,"  continued  harping  on  the  old  State  Rights 
theme.  The  temporary  chairman  of  the  convention, 
Dr.  J.  M.  Christian,  varied  the  monotony  a  little  when 
he  elegantty  said :  "  We  have  come  here  not  only  to 
celebrate  an  honored  day,  but  to  nominate  men  of 
noble  hearts,  determined  to  release  the  State  from  the 
thraldom  of  niggerism,  and  place  it  under  the  con 
trol  of  the  Democratic  party." 

Mr.  George  H.  Pendleton,  the  permanent  chairman, 
delivered  a  rhetorical  State  rights  speech,  in  which 
he  said  :  "  The  Democratic  party  has  always  main 
tained  the  rights  of  the  States  as  essential  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  Union." 

The  platform  or  resolutions  of  the  convention,  re- 


64  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

ported  by  Mr.  C.  L.  Yallaudigham,  contained  a  great 
deal  of  the  same  sort  of  thing,  supplemented  with 
this  resolution  :  "  That  the  Radical  majority  in  the  so- 
called  Congress  have  proved  themselves  to  be  in  favor 
of  negro  suffrage  by  forcing  it  upon  the  people  of  the 
District  of  Columbia,  against  their  almost  unanimous 
wish,  solemnly  expressed  at  the  polls;  by  forcing  it 
upon  the  people  of  all  the  territories,  and  by  their 
various  devices  to  coerce  the  people  of  the  South  to 
aclopt  it ;  that  we  are  opposed  to  negro  suffrage,  be 
lieving  it  would  be  productive  of  evil  to  both  whites 
and  blacks,  and  tend  to  produce  a  disastrous  conflict 
of  races." 

The  convention  nominated,  by  acclamation,  Hon. 
Allen  G.  Thurman  for  Governor.  Judge  Thurman 
had  served  one  term  in  Congress  and  five  years  upon 
the  Supreme  Bench  of  the  State,  and  was  a  gentleman 
of  high  personal  character,  and  a  lawyer  of  extended 
reputation  and  commanding  abilities. 

The  Republican  State  Convention  assembled  at  Co 
lumbus,  June  19,  1867,  to  nominate  candidates  for 
governor,  lieutenant-governor,  and  other  State  officers. 
The  three  candidates  most  talked  of  for  governor 
were  Hon.  Samuel  Galloway,  Adjutant-General  B.  R. 
Cowen,  and  General  Hayes,  then  representing  the  Sec 
ond  District  in  Congress.  Mr.  Galloway  had  served 
in  Congress,  had  long  been  one  of  the  most  active 
members  of  the  Republican  party,  and  was  popular 
because  of  his  abilities  as  a  stump  speaker.  General 
Cowen  had  devoted  much  time  to  the  organization  of 
the  State  in  his  own  interest  as  a  candidate,  and  was 
possessed  of  considerable  managing  ability.  Public 
opinion,  however,  in  Northern,  Southern,  and  Western 


ELECTED   GOVERNOR  OP   OHIO.  65 

Ohio  had  concentrated  upon  General  R.  B.  Hayes  be 
fore  the  convention  met.  The  times  seemed  to  demand 
a  military  man  for  leader,  and,  in  the  language  of  the 
Cincinnati  Commercial, there  were  "no  better  military 
records  than  his,  if  they  are  to  rated  by  brave,  faith 
ful,  steadfast  service."  General  J.  D.  Cox  was  not  a 
candidate  for  renomination.  General  Hayes  was  the 
idol  of  the  soldiers.  As  early  as  1865,  his  old  divis 
ion,  while  he  himself  was  absent  on  a  distant  field  of 
duty,  held  a  meeting,  between  skirmishes  with  the 
enemy,  and  passed  resolutions  nominating  him  for 
Governor  of  Ohio  for  the  canvass  of  that  year.  The 
soldiers  went  so  far  as  to  send  circulars  to  the  different 
counties  of  the  State,  embodying  their  resolutions. 
When  General  Hayes  first  heard  of  these  proceedings 
he  gave  immediate  and  peremptoty  instructions  to 
have  them  stopped.  He  forbade  the  use  of  his  name  in 
such  connection,  on  pain  of  his  permanen^  displeasure. 

The  Convention  of  June,  1867,  was  almost  impru 
dently  courageous  in  the  enunciation  of  sound,  but 
then  unpopular,  principles.  It  placed  the  Republican 
party  "  on  the  broad  platform  of  impartial  manhood 
suffrage  as  embodied  in  the  proposed  amendment  to 
the  State  Constitution,"  and  appealed  to  the  "  intelli 
gence,  justice,  and  patriotism  of  the  people  of  Ohio 
to  approve  it  at  the  ballot-box."  The  platform  em 
phasized  the  point — always  well  taken — that  the 
United  States  is  a  Nation. 

On  this  platform  General  Hayes  was  nominated  for 
Governor  on  the  first  ballot,  receiving  two  hundred 
and  eighty-six  votes  to  two  hundred  and  eight  cast 
for  Mr.-  Galloway.  The  nomination  was  accepted  for 
him  by  a  friend  in  his  absence.  The  honor  which 


66  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

came  to  him  unsought  was  borne  with  the  modesty 
of  a  soldier. 

On  the  evening  of  the  nominations,  Mr.  Fred.  Has- 
saurek  delivered  in  Columbus  a  very  able  speech  in 
favor  of  manhood  equality,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
said  :  "  The  men  who  now  lead  and  officer  the  Demo 
cratic  party  are  the  most  dangerous  enemies  'of  the 
country,-  of  its  peace,  prosperity,  and  welfare.  Let 
both  sections  of  the  country  unite  to  give  a  final, 
crushing  blow  to  the  influence  of  Democratic  leaders. 
Let  the  serpent  be  fully  expelled  from  Paradise,  and 
our  country  will  soon  be  a  Garden  of  Eden  again." 

General  Hayes,  having  resigned  his  seat  in  Con 
gress,  opened  the  campaign  of  '67  in  a  compre 
hensive  speech,  delivered  at  Lebanon,  August  5, 
aggressive  in  tone  and  full  of  bristling  points.  It 
was  equivalent  to  a  charge  along  the  whole  of  the 
enemies'  line — a  species  of  tactics  which  -he  had 
learned  the  advantage  of  in  the  valley  of  the  She- 
nandoah.  We  refer  the  reader  to  this  clear,  resolute, 
vigorous  speech,  reprinted  in  full  in  the  Appendix, 
for  the  grounds  upon  which  the  Republican  leader 
demanded  a  popular  verdict  against  his  political  ad 
versaries.  The  speech  showed  that  he  deserved  the 
eulogies  of  the  press  which  followed  his  nomination, 
among  which  were  those  of  Colonel  Donn  Piatt — a 
judge  of  ability,  to  say  the  least — who  had  written : 
"The  people  will  find  his  utterances  full  of  sound 
thought,  and  his  deportment  modest;  dignified,  and 
unpretending.  .  .  .  Possessed  of  a  high  order 
of  talent,  enriched  by  stores  of  information,  General 
Hayes  is  one  of  the  few  men  capable  of  accomplish 
ing  much  without  any  egotistical  assertion  of  self." 


ELECTED    GOVERNOR   OF   OHIO.  67 

General  James  M.  Comly  had  said:  "More  than  four 
years'  service  in  the  same  command  gave  the  writer 
ample  opportunity  to  know  that  no  braver  or  more 
dashing  and  enterprising  commander  gave  his  services 
to  the  Republic  than  General  Hayes.  He  was  the  idol 
of  his  command.  No  man  of  his  soldiery  ever  doubted 
when  he  led.  In  principle  he  is  as  radical  as  we  could 
desire.  His  vote  has  been  given  in  Congress  on  every 
square  issue  for  the  right.  He  is  no  wabbler  or  time- 
server.  He  no  more  dodges  votes  than  he  did  bullets." 

Judge  Thurrnan — now  Senator  A.  G.  Thurmau — 
opened  the  campaign  on  the  Democratic  side  in  an 
elaborate  speech,  delivered  at  Waverly,  August  5th, 
and  reported  in  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  of  August 
6th.  He  vigorously  defended  the  course  and  action 
of  the  Peace  Democracy  in  Ohio,  and  assailed  Mr. 
Lincoln  anJ  his  administration  with  an  extravagance 
of  language  that  weakened  the  force  of  many  of  his 
arguments  during  the  campaign.  He  intemperately 
asserted  that  there  was  "  scarcely  a  provision  of  the 
Constitution"  that  had  not  been  "shamelessly  and 
needlessly  trampled  under  foot"  by  "these  enemies 
of  our  Government,"  including  as  "enemies"  the 
Congress  and  Cabinet  that  supported  and  maintained 
the  war  for  the  Union.  These  and  other  unfortunate 
allusions,  such  as  that  to  the  "poison  of  Abolition 
ism,"  enabled  General  Hayes  to  effectively  retort  at 
Sidney,  and  at  other  points.  So  much  of  the  Sidney 
speech  as  refers  to  Judge  Thurman's  Waverly  speech 
is  reproduced  in  our  Appendix. 

The  contest  waxed  warm  between  these  able  antag 
onists,  and  the  number  of  speeches  that  each  deliv 
ered  was  only  limited  by  his  powers  of  physical  en- 


LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


durance.  Meetings  were  held  night  and  day,  from 
the  beginning  until  the  close  of  the  canvass.  Much 
more  than  the  governorship  was  involved.  A  United 
States  Senator,  for  six  years,  was  to  be  chosen  by  the 
incoming  Legislature.  But,  above  all,  the  vital  prin 
ciple  of  manhood  suffrage,  and  the  righteousness  or 
unrighteousness  of  the  war  to  preserve  the  Union, 
were  issues  to  be  decided. 

As  the  contest  grew  in  magnitude  it  aroused  a 
national  interest.  Morton,  Julian,  Orth,  and  Gov 
ernor  Baker  came  from  Indiana  to  aid  Hayes  in  the 
struggle;  Shelby  M.  Cullom,  and  John  A.  Logan 
from  Illinois ;  Schurz  from  Missouri ;  Governor  Har- 
riman  from  E"ew  Hampshire ;  Chandler  from  Michi 
gan;  and  Gleni  W.  Scotield  from  Pennsylvania.  The 
home  talent — and  no  State  ever  had  more — was  in  the 
field  in  force.  There  were  men  of  conceded  abilities, 
such  as  Aaron  F.  Perry,  Shellabarger,  Hassaurek, 
W.  H.  West,  Judge  Storer,  and  John  A.  Bingham, 
and  men  of  reputation  like  Governors  Cox  and  Den- 
nison,  Galloway,  John  C.  Lee,  and  Senators  Wade 
and  Sherman,  who  manifested  the  most  earnest  inter 
est  in  the  canvass. 

Judge  Thurman  was  not  so  ably  seconded,  although 
Vallandigham,  Pendleton,  Ranney,  H.  J.  Jewett,  Dur- 
bin  Ward,  George  W.  McCook,  Frank  H.  Hurd,  and 
other  well-known  leaders  contributed  aid  to  the  ex 
tent  of  their  ability. 

In  this  canvass  General  Hayes  gave  proofs  of  that 
boldness  and  moral  audacity  for  which  he  is  remarka 
ble.  In  every  community  in  which  he  went  he  was 
besought  by  committee-men,  soldiers,  and  others,  to 
say  nothing  about  the  suffrage  amendment.  Negro 


ELECTED   GOVERNOR   OF  OHIO.  69 

suffrage,  at  that  time,  was  exceedingly  unpopular. 
He  rejected,  with  some  feeling,  these  timid  counsels. 
He  maintained,  everywhere,  the  inherent  justice  of 
equality  at  the  polls  and  before  the  law,  and  insisted 
that  the  man  who  was  willing  to  give  up  his  life  for 
the  Union  should  have  a  voice  in  its  government. 
By  this  hold  course  he  made  votes  for  the  amendment, 
hut  lost  votes  for  himself.  The  result  of  the  cam 
paign  had  this  peculiar  feature,  that  while  General 
Hayes  and  the  Republican  State  ticket  were  elected, 
the  main  issue  of  the  contest  was  defeated  by  fifty  thou 
sand  majority.  The  prejudices  of  a  hundred  years 
could  not  be  removed  in  a  hundred  days.  Had  Judge 
Thurman  and  his  aids  concentrated  the  fire  of  their 
batteries  upon  the  suffrage  redoubt — the  weak  point 
in  their  adversaries'  lines — they  would  probably  have 
gained  a  sweeping  victory.  As  it  was,  Thurman  car 
ried  the  Legislature,  and  secured  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  General  Hayes  was  elected  by  the 
small  majority  of  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
eighty-three  votes,  running  somewhat  ahead  of  his 
ticket. 

He  was  inaugurated  as  Governor  of  Ohio,  in  the 
rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  January  13,  1868.  On  that 
occasion,  in  the  presence  of  the  Legislature  and  judi 
cial  departments  of  the  State  Government,  and  a  large 
concourse  of  citizens,  he  delivered  the  following 
inaugural  address  : 

Gentlemen  of  the   Senate  and  House  of  Representatives,  and  Fellow- 
Citizens  : 

The  duty  devolved  on  the  governor  by  the  constitution  of 
communicating  by  message  to  the  General  Assembly  the  condi 
tion  of  the  State,  and  of  recommending  such  measures  as  he 


70  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


deems  expedient,  has  been  performed  at  the  present  session  by 
my  predecessor,  Governor  Cox,  in  a  manner  so  thorough  and 
comprehensive  that  I  do  not  feel  called  upon  to  enter  upon  a 
discussion  of  questions  touching  the  administration  of  the  State 
government. 

I  can  think  of  no  better  reward  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  the  duties  of  the  office  which  I  am  about  to  assume  than  that 
which,  I  believe,  my  immediate  predecessor  is  entitled  to  enjoy, — 
the  knowledge  that  in  the  opinion  of  his  fellow-citizens  of  all 
parties  he  has,  by  his  culture,  his  ability,  and  his  integrity,  hon 
ored  the  office  of  Governor  of  Ohio,  and  that  he  now  leaves  it 
with  a  conscience  satisfied  with  the  discharge  of  duty. 

I  congratulate  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly  that 
many  of  the  questions  which  have  hitherto  largely  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  law-making  power,  and  divided  the  people  of 
the  State,  have,  in  the  progress  of  events,  either  been  settled,  or, 
in  the  general  judgment  of  the  people,  been  transferred  for 
investigation  and  decision  to  the  National  government.  The 
State  debt,  taxation,  the  currency,  and  internal  improvements, 
for  many  years  furnished  the  prominent  topics  of  discussion 
and  controversy  in  Ohio.  In  the  year  1845  the  State  debt 
reached  its  highest  point.  It  amounted  to  $20,018,515.67,  and 
in  the  same  year  the  total  taxable  property  of  the  State  was 
$136,142j666.  With  a  disordered  currency,  with  business  pros 
trated,  with  labor  often  insufficiently  rewarded,  the  burden  of 
this  debt  was  severely  felt,  and  questions  in  regard  to  it  natu 
rally  entered  into  the  partisan  struggles  of  the  time.  Now  the 
State  debt  is  $11,031,941.56;  the  taxable  property  of  the  State 
amounts  to  $1,138,754,779;  and  there  is  no  substantial  difference 
of  opinion  among  the  people  as  to  the  proper  mode  of  dealing 
with  this  subject. 

State  taxation  was  formerly  the  occasion  of  violent  party  con 
tests.  Now  men  of  all  parties  concur  in  the  opinion  that,  as  a 
general  rule,  every  citizen  ought  to  be  taxed  in  proportion  to  the 
actual  value  of  his  property,  without  regard  to  the  form  in  which 
he  prefers  to  invest  it;  and  differences  as  to  the  measures  by 
which  the  principle  is  practically  applied  rarely  enter  into  po 
litical  struggles  in  Ohio. 

Party  conflicts  and  debates  as  to  State  laws  in  relation  to 
banking  and  the  currency  constitute  a  large  part  of  the  political 


ELECTED  GOVERNOR  OF  OHIO.  71 

history  of  the  State.  But  the  events  of  the  last  few  years  have 
convinced  those  who  are  in  favor  of  a  paper  currency  that  in 
the  present  condition  of  the  country  it  can  best  be  furnished  by 
the  National  government,  either  by  means  of  National  banks  or 
in  the  form  of  legal  tender  treasury  notes.  State  legislatures 
are  therefore  relieved  from  the  consideration  of  this  difficult 
and  perplexing  subject. 

Internal  improvements  made  by  State  authority,  so  essential 
to  growth  and  prosperity  in  the  early  history  of  the  State,  no 
longer  require  much  consideration  by  the  General  Assembly. 
Works  of  a  magnitude  too  great  to  be  undertaken  by  individual 
enterprise  will  hereafter  be,  for  the  most  part,  accomplished  by 
the  government  of  the  Nation. 

The  part  which  patriotism  required  Ohio  to  take  in  the  war  to 
suppress  rebellion  demanded  important  and  frequent  acts  of 
legislation.  Fortunately  the  transactions  of  the  State  growing 
out  of  the  war  have  been,  or  probably  can  be,  closed  under  ex 
isting  laws,  with  very  little,  if  any,  additional  legislation. 

If  not  mistaken  as  to  the  result  of  this  brief  reference  to  a 
few  of  the  principal  subjects  of  the  legislation  of  the  past,  the 
present  General  Assembly  has  probably  a  better  opportunity 
than  any  of  its  predecessors  to  avoid  the  evil  of  too  much  legis 
lation.  Excessive  legislation  has  become  a  great  evil,  and  I 
submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  General  Assembly  the  wisdom  of 
avoiding  it. 

One  important  question  of  principle  as  old  as  our  State  gov 
ernment  still  remains  unsettled.  All  are  familiar  with  the  con 
flicts  to  which  the  policy  of  making  distinctions  between  citizens 
in  civil  and  political  rights  has  given  rise  in  Ohio.  The  first 
effort  of  those  who  opposed  this  policy  was  to  secure  to  all  citi 
zens  equality  of  civil  rights.  The  result  of  the  struggle  that 
ensued  is  thus  given  by  an  eminent  and  honored  citizen  of  our 
State:  "The  laws  which  created  disabilities  on  the  part  of  ne 
groes  in  respect  of  civil  rights  were  repealed  in  the  year  1849, 
after  an  obstinate  contest,  quite  memorable  in  the  history  of  the 
State.  Their  repeal  was  looked  upon  with  great  disfavor  by  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  as  a  dangerous  innovation  upon  a 
just  and  well-settled  policy,  and  a  vote  in  that  direction  con 
signed  many  members  of  the  legislature  to  the  repose  of  private 
life.  But  I  am  not  aware  that  any  evil  results  justified  these  ap- 


72  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


prehensions,  or  that  any  effort  was  ever  made  to  impose  the  dis 
abilities.  On  the  contrary,  the  new  policy,  if  I  may  call  it  so, 
has  been  found  so  consistent  with  justice  to  the  negroes  and  the 
interests  of  the  whites  that  no  one — certainly  no  party — in 
Ohio,  would  be  willing  to  abandon  it." 

An  effort  to  secure  to  all  citizens  equal  political  rights  was 
made  in  the  State  constitutional  convention  of  1851.  Only  thir 
teen  out  of  one  hundred  and  eight  members  in  that  body  voted 
in  its  favor ;  and  it  is  probable  that  less  than  one-tenth  of  the 
voters  of  the  State  would  then  have  voted  to  strike  the  word 
"white"  out  of  the  constitution. 

The  last  General  Assembly  submitted  to  the  people  a  proposi 
tion  to  amend  the  State  constitution  so  as  to  abolish  distinctions 
in  political  rights  based  upon  color.  The  proposition  contained 
several  clauses  not  pertinent  to  its  main  purpose,  under  which, 
if  adopted,  it  was  believed  by  many  that  the  number  of  white 
citizens  who  would  be  disfranchised  would  be  much  greater  than 
the  number  of  colored  citizens  who  would  be  allowed  the  right 
of  suffrage.  Notwithstanding  ^  the  proposition  was  thus  ham 
pered,  it  received  216,987  votes,  or  nearly  forty-five  per  cent,  of 
all  the  votes  cast  in  the  State.  This  result  shows  great  progress 
in  public  sentiment  since  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of 
1851,  and  inspires  the  friends  of  equal  political  rights  with  a 
confident  hope  that  in  1871,  when  the  opportunity  is  given  to 
the  people,  by  the  provisions  of  the  constitution,  to  call  a  con 
stitutional  convention,  the  organic  law  of  the  State  will  be  so 
amended  as  to  secure  in  Ohio  to  all  the  governed  an  equal  voice 
in  the  government. 

But  whatever  reasonable  doubts  may  be  entertained  as  to  the 
probable  action  of  the  people  of  Ohio  on  the  question  of  an  ex 
tension  of  the  right  of  suffrage  when  a  new  State  constitution 
shall  be  formed,  I  submit  with  confidence  that  nothing  has  oc 
curred  which  warrants  the  opinion  that  the  ratification  by  the 
last  General  Assembly  of  the  fourteenth  amendment  to  the  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  was  not  in  accordance  with  the 
deliberate  and  settled  convictions  of  the  people.  That  amend 
ment  was,  after  the  amplest  discussion  upon  an  issue  distinctly 
presented,  sanctioned  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people.  If  any 
fact  exists  which  justifies  the  belief  that  they  now  wish  that  the 
resolution  should  be  repealed,  by  which  the  assent  of  Ohio  was 


ELECTED    GOVERNOR   OP   OHIO.  73 


given  to  that  important  amendment,  it  has  not  been  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  public.  Omitting  all  reference  to  other 
valuable  provisions,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  the  section  which 
secures  among  all  the  States  of  the  Union  equal  representation 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  in  the  electoral  colleges  in 
proportion  to  the  voting  population,  is  deemed  of  vital  impor 
tance  by  the  people  of  Ohio.  Without  now  raising  the  grave 
question  as  to  the  right  of  a  State  to  withdraw  its  assent,  which 
has  been  constitutionally  given  to  a  proposed  amendment  of  the 
Federal  constitution,  I  respectfully  suggest  that  the  attempt 
which  is  now  making  to  withdraw  the  assent  of  Ohio  to  the 
fourteenth  amendment  to  the  Federal  constitution  be  postponed 
until  the  people  shall  again  have  an  opportunity  to  give  expres 
sion  to  their  will.  In  my  judgment,  Ohio  will  never  consent 
that  the  whites  of  the  South,  a  large  majority  of  whom  were 
lately  in  rebellion,  shall  exercise  in  the  government  of  the  Na 
tion  as  much  political  power,  man  for  man,  as  the  same  number 
of  white  citizens  of  Ohio,  and  be  allowed  in  addition  thereto 
thirty  members  of  Congress  and  of  the  electoral  colleges,  for  col 
ored  people  deprived  of  every  political  privilege. 

In  conclusion,  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  adopt  as  my  own  the 
sentiments  so  fitly  expressed  by  the  speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  present  General  Assembly.  I  sincerely 
hope  that  the  legislation  of  the  General  Assembly  and  the  ad 
ministration  of  the  State  government  in  all  its  branches  may  be 
characterized  by  economy,  wisdom,  and  prudence;  that  states 
manship,  patriotism,  and  philanthropy  may  be  manifest  in  every 
act,  and  that  all  may  be  done  under  the  guidance  of  that  Provi 
dence  which  has  hitherto  so  signally  preserved  and  blessed  our 
State  and  Nation. 

Certain  principles  are  laid  down  in  this  address. 
One  is  that  every  citizen  ought  to  be  taxed  in  propor 
tion  to  the  actual  value  of  his  property.  Another  is 
that  too  much  legislation  is  an  evil  to  be  avoided.  A 
third  is  that  equality  of  civil  rights  justly  belongs  to 
all  citizens,  notwithstanding  the  vote  at  the  recent 
election  to  the  contrary  ;  and  a  fourth,  that  represen- 


74  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

tation  according  to  voting  population  is  a  sound  prin 
ciple,  and  the  people  of  Ohio  must  stand  by  the  Four 
teenth  Amendment  to  the  National  Constitution.  The 
Democratic  legislature  were  endeavoring  to  withdraw 
Ohio's  previous  ratification.  This  admirable  address 
needs  no  further  comment. 

Governor  Hayes  took  an  active  part  in  the  State 
canvass  of  1868,  being  assisted  by  Hon.  James  G. 
Elaine,  who  spoke  with  marked  effect  in  Columbus, 
October  9th. 

At  the  session  of  the  legislature  in  November,  1868, 
the  governor  delivered  his  first  annual  message. 

Fellow-citizens  of  the  General  Assembly  : 

Upon  your  assembling  to  enter  again  upon  the  duty  of  legis 
lating  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  Ohio,  the  Governor  is  re 
quired  by  the  constitution  to  communicate  to  you  the  condition 
of  the  State,  and  to  recommend  such  measures  as  he  shall  deem 
expedient.  The  reports  of  the  executive  officers  of  the  State, 
and  of  the  heads  of  the  State  institutions,  are  required  by  law 
to  be  made  to  the  Governor  on  or  before  the  20th  day  of  Novem 
ber  of  each  year.  Since  that  date,  sufficient  time  has  not  elapsed 
for  the  publication  of  the  reports,  and  I  shall  therefore  not  be 
able,  at- the  opening  of  your  present  session,  to  lay  before  you  a 
detailed  exposition  of  the  affairs  of  the  various  departments  of 
the  State  government.  It  will  be  my  purpose  in  this  communi 
cation  to  invite  your  attention  to  a  few  brief  suggestions  in  re 
lation  to  some  measures  which  are  deemed  important,  and  which 
may  be  considered  and  acted  upon,  if  you  think  it  advisable,  in 
advance  of  the  publication  of  the  official  reports. 

The  financial  affairs  of  the  State  government  are  in  a  satisfac 
tory  condition.  The  balance  in  the  treasury  on  the  15th  of  No 
vember,  1807,  was  $677,990.79;  the  receipts  during  the  last  fiscal 
year  were  $4,347,484.82;  making  the  total  amount  of  funds  in 
the  treasury,  during  the  year,  $5,025,475.61. 

The  disbursements  during  the  year  have  been  $4,455,354.86; 
which  sum  has  been  paid  out  of  the  treasury  from  the  several 
funds,  as  follows,  viz  : 


ELECTED    GOVERNOR   OF   OHIO.  75 


General  revenue  fund $1,518,210  35 

Canal  fund 14,939  39 

National  road  fund 18,829  36 

Sinking  fund 1,472,226  33 

Common  school  fund 1,426,858  80 

Bank  redemption  fund 16  95 

Soldiers'  claims  fund 3,781  68 

Soldiers'  allotment  fund 482  00 

Balance  in  treasury,  November  15,  1868 570,120  75 


Total $5,025,475.61 

The  amount  of  the  public  funded  debt,  November 

15,  1867,  was $11,031,941  56 

During  the  year,  the  redemptions  were — 

On  the  loan  of  I860 $14,650  67 

Of  foreign  union  loan  of  1868 191,166  00 

Of  domestic  loan  of  1868 136,088  13 

Of  loan  of  1870 157,361  33 

499,266  13 


Debt  outstanding,'  November  15,  1868 $10,532,675  43 

Small  temporary  appropriations  are  required  as  promptly  as 
practicable  for  each  of  the  following  objects,  the  existing  appro 
priations  having  been  exhausted,  viz:  Expenses  of  the  Presi 
dential  election;  expenses  of  the  General  Assembly,  trustees  of 
benevolent  institutions,  care  of  state-house,  gas  for  state-house, 
expenses  of  legislative  committees,  binding  for  the  State,  and 
the  new  idiotic  asylum. 

In  pursuance  of  an  act  passed  March  18,  1867,  a  board  of  com 
missioners,  consisting  of  Aaron  F.  Perry,  of  Hamilton  county, 
Charles  E.  Glidden,  of  Mahoning  county,  and  James  H.  God- 
man,  auditor  of  State,  was  appointed  by  my  predecessor,  Gov 
ernor  Cox,  whose  duty  it  was  "  to  revise  all  the  laws  of  this  State 
relating  to  the  assessment  and  taxation  of  property,  the  collec 
tion,  safe-keeping,  and  disbursement  of  the  revenues,  and  all 
the  laws  constituting  the  financial  system  of  the  State,"  and  to 
report  their  proceedings  to  the  next  session  of  the  General  As 
sembly.  The  report  of  the  commission  was  laid  before  you  at 
your  last  session.  It  disclosed  many  imperfections  and  inconsis 
tencies  in  the  existing  legislation  touching  the  finances  and  the 
urgent  necessity  for  an  elaborate  revision  of  that  legislation. 
Their  report  was  accompanied  by  eight  separate  bills,  consolidat- 


76  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

ing  the  present  laws,  removing  contradictions,  and  supplying 
defects,  but  introducing  no  radical  change  in  the  general  prin 
ciples  of  our  financial  system.  These  bills  have  already  been 
somewhat  considered  by  both  branches  of  the  General  Assem 
bly,  but  no  definite  action  upon  them  has  yet  been  had.  I  re 
spectfully  recommend  an  early  consideration  of  the  bills,  and 
their  adoption,  with  such  amendments  as,  in  your  judgment,  the 
public  interests  may  require. 

The  destruction  of  the  central  lunatic  asylum  by  fire,  during 
the  night  of  the  18th  inst.,  causing  the  death,  by  suffocation,  of 
six  of  the  patients,  and  incalculable  distress  and  suffering  to  the 
remainder,  will  require  investigation  and  prompt  action  on  your 
part.  In  rebuilding  the  asylum,  the  erection  of  a  fire-proof 
building  will  occur  to  you  as  alike  the  suggestion  of  prudence 
and  humanity. 

This  calamity  also  suggests  the  propriety  of  examining  the 
condition  of  the  other  institutions  of  the  State,  with  a  view  to 
providing  them  with  every  proper  means  of  security  against  a 
similar  disaster. 

The  interests  of  common  school  education,  in  my  opinion,  will 
be  promoted  by  the  early  adoption  of  county  superintendency, 
as  provided  in  a  bill  on  that  subject  now  pending  in  one  branch 
of  the  General  Assembly.  I  therefore  earnestly  recommend  the 
consideration  and  passage  of  the  bill. 

The  commissioner  of  common  schools  is  required,  in  the  dis 
charge  of  his  duties,  to  pay  out  each  year,  for  traveling  expenses, 
about  $700.  The  propriety  of  refunding  to  him,  out  of  the  State 
treasury,  his  traveling  expenses,  will  probably  not  be  called  in 
question. 

During  the  last  summer,  a  cattle  disease,  commonly  known  as 
the  Spanish  or  Texas  cattle  fever,  occasioned  much  alarm  in  the 
grazing  counties  of  the  State,  and  in  a  few  localities  caused  se 
rious  loss.  On  the  recommendation  of  the  State  board  of  agri 
culture,  in  the  absence  of  effective  legislation,  it  was  deemed 
proper  to  appoint  commissioners  to  take  such  measures  as  the 
law  authorized  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  disease.  A  procla 
mation  was  issued  to  prevent,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  introduc 
tion,  movement,  or  transportation  of  diseased  cattle  within  the 
limits  of  the  State.  The  railroad  companies  and  the  owners  of 
stock  promptly  complied  with  the  requirements  referred  to,  and 


ELECTED    GOVERNOR   OF    OHIO.  77 

the  injury  sustained  by  the  cattle  interest  was  happily  not  ex 
tensive.  It  is  believed  that,  upon  investigation,  it  will  be  found 
necessary  to  confer,  by  law,  upon  a  board  of  commissioners  ap 
pointed  for  that  purpose,  or  upon  the  executive  committee  of  the 
State  board  of  agriculture,  power  to  "stamp  out"  the  disease 
wherever  it  appears,  by  destroying  all  infected  cattle,  and  to  pro 
hibit  or  regulate  the  transportation  or  movement  of  stock  within 
the  State  during  the  prevalence  of  the  disease.  To  the  end  that 
proper  investigation  may  be  had,  I  respectfully  recommend  that 
authority  be  given  to  appoint  five  commissioners  to  attend  a 
meeting  of  commissioners  of  other  States,  to  be  held  for  the  con 
sideration  of  this  subject,  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  on  the  1st  of 
December  next — said  commissioners  to  report  the  results  of  their 
investigation  in  time  for  action  by  the  present  General  Assem 
bly. 

I  submit  to  your  consideration  the  importance  of  providing 
for  a  thorough  and  comprehensive  geological  survey  of  the 
State.  Many  years  ago  a  partial  survey  was  prosecuted  under 
many  difficulties  and  embarrassments,  which  was  fruitful  of  val 
uable  results.  It  is,  beyond  doubt,  that  such  a  work  as  it  is  now 
practicable  to  carry  out  will,  by  making  known  the  mining, 
manufacturing,  and  agricultural  resources  of  the  State,  lead  to 
their  development  to  an  extent  which  will,  within  a  few  years, 
amply  reimburse  the  State  for  its  cost. 

The  annual  report  of  pardons  granted  and  the  commutations  of 
the  sentences  of  convicts  required  by  law ;  a  statement  in  detail 
of  the  expenditure  of  the  governor's  contingent  fund  ;  the  semi 
annual  report  of  the  commissioners  of  the  sinking  fund,  for 
May  ;  copies  of  proclamations  issued  during  the  last  year ;  and 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  presentation  to  the  State  of  several 
of  the  portraits  of  former  governors  of  Ohio,  are  transmitted 
herewith. 

The  most  important  subject  of  legislation  which,  in  my  judg 
ment,  requires  the  attention  of  the  General  Assembly  at  its 
present  session,  relates  to  the  prevention  of  frauds  upon  the 
elective  franchise.  Intelligent  men  of  all  parties  are  persuaded 
that  at  the  recent  important  State  and  National  elections  great 
abuses  of  the  right  of  suffrage  were  practiced.  I  am  not  pre 
pared  to  admit  that  the  reports  commonly  circulated  and  be 
lieved  in  regard  to  such  abuses,  would,  so  far  as  the  elections  in 


78  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

Ohio  are  concerned,  be  fully  sustained  by  a  thorough  investiga 
tion  of  the  facts.  But  it  is  not  doubted  that  even  at  the  elec 
tions  in  our  own  State  frauds  were  perpetrated  to  such  an  ex 
tent  that  all  good  citizens  earnestly  desire  that  effective  meas 
ures  may  be  adopted  by  you  to  prevent  their  repetition.  No 
elaborate  attempt  to  portray  the  consequences  of  this  evil  is  re 
quired.  If  it  is  allowed  to  increase,  the  confidence  of  the  peo 
ple  in  the  purity  of  elections  will  be  lost,  and  the  exercise  of  the 
right  of  suffrage  will  be  neglected.  To  corrupt  the  ballot  box 
is  to  destroy  our  free  institutions.  Let  all  good  citizens,  there 
fore,  unite  in  enacting  and  enforcing  laws  which  will  secure  hon 
est  elections. 

I  submit  to  your  judgment  the  propriety  of  such  amendments 
to  the  election  laws  as  will  provide,  first,  for  the  representation 
of  minorities  in  the  boards  of  the  judges  and  clerks  of  the  elec 
tions  ;  and  second,  for  the  registration  of  all  the  lawful  voters 
in  each  township,  ward,  and  election  precinct,  prior  to  the 
election. 

That  the  boards  of  elections  ought  to  be  so  constituted  that 
minorities  as  well  as  majorities  will  have  a  fair  representation  in 
them,  is  so  plainly  just  that  in  some  parts  of  the  State,  even  in 
times  of  the  highest  political  excitement,  such  representation 
has  been  obtained,  in  the  absence  of  law,  by  arrangement  be 
tween  the  committees  of  the  rival  political  parties.  It  is  not 
probable  that  any  mode  of  selecting  judges  and  clerks  of  elec 
tions  can  be  adopted  which  will,  in  every  case,  accomplish  this 
object.  But  in  all  cases  where  the  strength  of  the  minority  is 
half,  or  nearly  half  as  great  as  that  of  the  majority,  the  desired 
representation  of  the  minority  may  be  insured  with  sufficient 
certainty  by  several  different  plans.  For  example,  it  may  be 
provided  that  at  the  election  of  the  three  judges  who  are  to  de 
cide  all  questions  at  the  polls,  each  elector  may  be  allowed  to 
vote  for  two  candidates  only,  and  that  the  three  candidates 
having  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall  be  declared  elected, 
and  in  like  manner  that,  at  the  election  of  the  two  clerks  of  elec 
tions,  each  elector  may  vote  for  one  candidate  only,  and  that 
the  two  candidates  receiving  the  highest  number  of  votes  shall 
be  declared  elected. 

I  do  not  lay  much  stress  on  the  particular  plan  here  suggested, 
but  your  attention  is  invited  to  the  importance  of  a  fair  repre- 


ELECTED   GOVEREOR   OP   OHIO.  79 

sentation  of  the  minority  in  all  boards  of  elections,  not  doubt 
ing  that  your  wisdom  will  be  able  to  devise  a  suitable  measure 
to  accomplish  it.- 

All  parts  of  the  State  of  Ohio  are  now  so  closely  connected 
with  each  other,  and  with  other  States,  by  lines  of  railway,  that 
great  and  constantly  increasing  facilities  are  afforded  for  the 
perpetration  of  the  class  of  frauds  on  the  elective  franchise, 
commonly  known  as  "colonizing."  In  the  cities,  men  called 
"repeaters,"  it  is  said,  are  paid  wages  according  to  the  number 
of  unlawful  votes  they  succeed  in  casting  at  the  same  election. 

The  increase  of  population  adds  to  the  difficulty  of  detecting 
and  preventing  fraudulent  voting,  in  whatever  mode  it  may  be 
practiced.  It  is  manifestly  impossible,  amid  the  hurry  and  ex 
citement  of  an  election,  that  the  legal  right  to  vote,  of  every 
person  who  may  offer  his  ballot,  should  be  fully  and  fairly  in 
vestigated  and  decided.  The  experience  of  many  of  the  older 
States  has  proved  that  this  can  best  be  done  at  some  period  prior 
to  the  election,  so  as  to  give  to  every  legal  voter,  in  an  election 
precinct,  an  opportunity  to  challenge  the  claim  of  any  person 
whose  right  is  deemed  questionable.  Laws  to  accomplish  this 
have  been  in  force  in  several  other  States  for  many  years,  and 
have  been  carried  out  successfully  and  with  the  general  approval 
of  the  people.  Believing  that  an  act  providing  for  the  registra 
tion  of  all  legal  voters  is  the  most  effective  remedy  yet  devised 
for  the  prevention  of  frauds  on  the  sacred  right  of  suffrage,  and 
that  a  registry  law  can  be  so  framed  that  it  will  deprive  no  citi 
zen,  either  native  born  or  naturalized,  of  his  just  rights,  I  re 
spectfully  recommend  to  your  earnest  consideration  the  pro 
priety  of  enacting  such  a  law. 

The  comprehensive  geological  survey  of  the  State 
recommended  in  this  message  was  promptly  brought 
about  through  the  able  co-operation  of  the  Hon. 
Alfred  E.  Lee,  representing  Delaware  county  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  who  drew  up  and  reported 
a  bill  on  February  9,  1869,  making  provision  for  the 
important  object  in  view.  Through  the  intelligent 
activity  of  Governor  Hayes  and  Representative  Lee, 


80  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

the  bill  became  a  law,  April  2,  1869.  The  thorough 
scientific  survey  of  the  State,  since  completed  under 
the  supervision  of  Professors  Newbury,"  Andrews,  and 
Orton,  has  been  of  immeasurable  value  in  the  way  of 
developing  the  mineral  resources  of  Ohio. 

Governor  Hayes  in  this  message  demands  laws 
to  secure  honest  elections,  because  "  to  corrupt  the 
ballot-box  is  to  destroy  our  free  institutions."  He 
recommends  laws  securing  the  representation  of 
minorities  on  election  boards,  and  advocates  stringent 
registry  laws. 

In  the  second  annual  message,  delivered  at  the  close 
of  his  first  term,  which  we  give  below,  he  recommends 
increased  powers  to  the  State  board  of  charities ;  bet 
ter  provision  for  the  chronic  insane ;  the  establish 
ment  of  a  State  agricultural  college  ;  the  founding  of 
a  home  for  soldiers'  orphans,  and  restoring  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  soldiers  in  the  national  asylum,  to  college 
students,  and  others  who  had  been  disfranchised  under 
Democratic  legislation.  He  urged  also  the  ratification 
by  Ohio  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment.  We  shall 
speak  of  the  gratifying  result  of  these  recommenda 
tions  in  our  next  chapter. 

Fellow- Citizens  of  the  General  Assembly  : 

In  obedience  to  the  constitution,  I  proceed  to  lay  before  you 
the  condition  of  the  affairs  of  the  State  government,  and  to  re 
commend  such  measures  as  seem  to  me  expedient. 

The  balance  in  the  State  treasury  on  the  15th  of  November, 
1868  was  $570,120.75;  the  receipts  during  the  last  fiscal  year 
were  $4,781,614.49;  making  the  total  amount  of  available  funds 
in  the  treasury  during  the  year  ending  November  15,  1869, 
$5,351,735.24. 

The  disbursements  during  the  year  have  been  $4,913,675.10, 


ELECTED   GOVERNOR   OF   OHIO.  81 

which  sum  has  been  paid  out  of  the  treasury  from  the  several 
funds  as  follows,  viz : 

General  revenue  fund $1,577,221  18 

Canal  fund 41,783  74 

National  roacl  fund 22,069  69 

Sinking  fund.. 1,775,938  52 

Common  school  fund 1,496,633  80 

Bank  redemption  fund 28  17 

Total $4,913,675  10 

Leaving  a   balance    in   the   treasury,    November   15,  1869,  of 
$438,060.14. 

The  estimates  of  the  auditor  of  State  of  receipts  and  expendi 
tures  for  the  current  year  are  as  follows : 

Estimated  receipts  from  all  sources,  including  bal 
ances $4,791,144  50 

Estimated  disbursements  for  all  purposes.... 4,477,899  60 


Leaving  an  estimated  balance  in  the  treas 
ury  November  15,  1870,  of. $313,244  90 

The  amount  of  the  public  funded  debt  of  the  State,  Novem 
ber  15,  1868,  was  $10,532,675.43.  During  the  last  year  the  fund 
commissioners  have  redeemed  of  the  various  loans  $516,093.57, 
and  have  invested  in  loans  not  yet  due  $160,643.59,  leaving  the 
total  debt  yet  to  be  provided  for  $9,855,938.27. 

The  whols  amount  of  taxes,  including  delinquencies,  collecti 
ble  under  State  laws  during  the  year  1869  was  $21,006,332.44. 
The  auditor  of  State  reports  the  total  amount  of  taxes,  including 
delinquencies,  collectible  during  the  current  year  at  $22,810,- 
675.84,  an  increase  of  the  taxes  of  1870  over  1869  of  $1,804,353.40. 

In  1869  there  was  collected  for  the  sinking  fund,  to  be  applied 
to  the  payment  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  State  debt, 
the  sum  of  $1,370,  J  01. 12.  In  the  present  year  there  will  be  col 
lected  for  the  same  purpose  the  sum  of  $808,826.61,  or  $561,275.51 
less  than  was  collected  last  year. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  taxes  collected  from  the  people  are 
for  county,  city,  and  other  local  purposes,  and  do  not  pass 
through  the  State  treasury,  but  are  disbursed  within  the  coun 
ties  where  they  are  collected.  During  the  current  year  the  taxes, 
exclusive  of  delinquencies,  to  be  collected  for  all  State  purposes 


82  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


except  for  the  common  school  fund,  amount  to  $2,542,025.27, 
while  $18,187,400.92  are  to  be  collected  for  local  purposes. 

The  foregoing  statements  from  the  report  of  the  auditor  of 
State  show  that  the  taxation  of  this  year  for  State  purposes  other 
than  for  payments  on  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  State 
debt  exceeds  the  taxation  of  last  year  for  the  same  purposes  by 
the  sum  of  $609,601.50,  and  that  taxation  for  local  purposes  this 
year  exceeds  that  of  last  year  for  the  same  purposes  by  the  sum 
of  $1,695,725.38.  The  local  taxes  this  year  are  about  44  per  cent, 
greater  than  they  were  three  years  ago,  and  are  10  per  cent, 
greater  than  they  were  last  year. 

The  increase  of  taxation  for  State  purposes  is  in  part  due  to 
the  amount  collected  for  the  asylum  building  fund,  which  ex 
ceeds  the  amount  required  last  year  for  building  purposes  by 
almost  $300,000.  Making  due  allowance  for  this,  the  important 
fact  remains  that  both  State  and  local  taxes  have  largely  in 
creased. 

A  remedy  for  this  evil  can  only  be  had  through  the  General 
Assembly.  The  most  important  measures  to  prevent  this  rapid 
increase  of  taxation,  which  have  heretofore  been  recommended, 
are  a  revision  of  the  financial  system  of  the  State  in  accordance 
with  bills  prepared  by  a  board  of  commissioners  appointed  for 
that  purpose,  in  pursuance  of  an  act  passed  March  18,  1867; 
short  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly  ;  adequate  fixed  salaries 
for  all  State,  county,  and  municipal  officers,  without  perquisites; 
and  definite  and  effectual  limitations  upon  the  power  of  county 
commissioners,  city  councils,  and  other  local  authorities  to  levy 
taxes  and  contract  debts. 

The  constitution  makes  it  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  restrict 
the  powers  of  taxation,  borrowing  money,  and  the  like,  so  as  to 
prevent  their  abuse.  I  respectfully  suggest  that  the  present 
laws  conferring  these  powers  on  local  authorities  require  exten 
sive  modification,  in  order  to  comply  with  this  constitutional 
provision.  Two  modes  of  limiting  these  powers  have  the  sanc 
tion  of  experience.  All  large  expenditures  should  meet  the 
approval  of  those  who  are  to  bear  their  burden.  Let  all  extraor 
dinary  expenditures  therefore  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
people,  and  no  tax  be  levied  unless  approved  by  a  majority  of 
all  the  voters  of  the  locality  to  be  affected  by  the  tax,  at  a 
special  election,  the  number  of  voters  to  be  ascertained  by  rof- 


ELECTED   GOVERNOR   OF   OHIO.  83 


erence  to  the  votes  cast  at  the  State  election  next  preceding 
such  special  election.  Another  mode  is  to  limit  the  rate  of  tax 
ation  which  may  be  levied  and  the  amount  of  debt  which  may 
be  incurred.  It  has  been  said  that  with  sucfi  restrictions  upon 
the  powers  of  local  authorities  the  legislature  will  be  importuned 
and  its  time  wasted  in  hearing  applications  for  special  legisla 
tion.  The  ready  answer  to  all  such  applications  by  local  author 
ities  will  be  to  refer  them  to  their  own  citizens  for  a  decision  of 
the  question.  The  facility  with  which  affirmative  votes  can  be 
obtained  under  the  pressure  of  temporary  excitement  upon 
propositions  authorizing  indebtedness  may  require  further  re 
strictions  upon  the  power  to  borrow  money.  It  is  therefore 
suggested,  for  your  consideration,  to  limit  the  amount  of  debt 
for  a  single  purpose,  and  the  total  amount  for  all  purposes 
which  any  local  authority  may  contract  to  a  certain  percentage 
of  the  taxable  property  of  such  locality. 

The  evils  here  considered  are  not  new.  Fourteen  years  ago 
Governor  Medill,  in  his  annual  message,  used  the  following  lan 
guage,  which  is  as  applicable  to  county  and  municipal  affairs 
now  as  it  was  when  it  was  written  :  "  The  irresponsible  and  ex 
travagant  system  of  administration  which  prevails  in  some  of 
our  counties  and  cities  furnishes  the  principal  cause  for  the  ex 
actions  which  are  so  generally  complained  of.  There  public 
contracts  are  given  to  favorites,  which  occasion  the  most  lavish 
expenditures.  There  also  we  find  officers  with  incomes  which 
shock  all  correct  ideas  of  public  compensation.  These  things 
have  their  effect  upon  the  general  tone  of  public  morals. 
County  reform  is  a  duty  enjoined  by  every  consideration  of 
public  virtue." 

The  whole  of  this  important  subject  is  commended  to  your 
candid  consideration. 

The  management  of  the  affairs  of  the  penitentiary,  during  the 
past  year,  has  been  good;  discipline  has  been  maintained; 
under  kind  and  judicious  treatment  the  prisoners  have  been  in 
dustrious  and  orderly,  and  the  pecuniary  results  are  satisfactory. 
The  number  of  prisoners,  on  the  31st  of  October,  1869,  was  974, 
and  the  number  of  convicts  admitted  during  the  year  ending 
on  that  day  was  347.  This  is  a  decrease,  compared  with  the 


84  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


preceding  year,  of  27  in  the  number  of  convicts  admitted,  and 
of  67  in  the  number  confined  in  the  penitentiary. 

The  earnings  during  the  year  ending  October  31, 

were $175,663  06 

The  expenses  were 143,635  83 


Excess  of  earnings  over  expenditures. $32,027  23 

Last  year  the  earnings  were $171,037  45 

The  expenses  were 141,794  95 


And  the  excess  of  earnings  over  expenses 

were $29,242  50 

A  large  proportion  of  the  convicts,  when  admitted,  are  quite 
young.  The  age  of  about  one-third  does  not  exceed  twenty-one 
years.  More  than  two-thirds  of  the  inmates  of  the  prison  are 
now  under  thirty  years  of  age.  It  will  occur  to  any  one  who 
considers  these  facts  that,  under  our  system  of  prison  discipline, 
too  little  effort  has  heretofore  been  made  to  reform  these  young 
men.  A  high  authority  has  said,  "  No  human  being  is  so  de 
based  and  wicked  that  he  can  not  be  reclaimed."  It  is  believed 
that,  under  a  wise  system,  the  young,  at  least,  can  be  reformed 
and  prepared  for  useful  and  worthy  citizenship.  The  present 
system  has  two  capital  defects — the  mingling  in  intimate  associ 
ation  of  the  young  with  the  hardened  criminals,  and  the  failure 
to  educate  the  convicts  in  habits  of  thrift  and  self-control.  The 
defects  are  in  the  system.  The  convict,  when  he  leaves  the  peni 
tentiary,  is  exposed  to  greater  temptations  than  ever  before,  and 
the  result  of  his  prison  life  is  that  he  has  less  power  to  resist 
evil  influences,  and,  too  often,  less  disposition  to  resist  them.  I 
do  not  enlarge  upon  the  objections  to  the  present  system ;  it  is 
not  claimed  to  be  reformatory.  In  a  recent  report,  the  directors 
said:  "  The  great  mass  of  convicts  still  leave  the  penitentiary 
apparently  as  hardened  and  as  dangerous  to  the  State  as  they 
were  when  they  were  sentenced."  The  vital  question  is,  how  to 
remove  this  reproach  on  our  penal  legislation.  In  considering 
it,  I  commend  to  you  the  remarks  of  the  board  of  State  chari 
ties  on  the  Irish  convict  system.  The  distinguishing  merit  of 
that  system  is,  that  "  it  enlists  the  co-operation  of  the  prisoner 
in  his  own  amendment,  without  withholding  from  him  the  pun- 


ELECTED   GOVERNOR   OF    OHIO.  85 


ishmen^due  to  his  crime."  If  the  adoption  of  that  system,  with 
such  modifications  as  our  condition  requires,  is  deemed  an  ex 
periment  which  it  is  inexpedient  for  the  State  to  try  until  its 
advantages  are  better  understood,  I  submit  that  the  least  that 
ought  now  to  be  attempted  is  to  provide  for  a  classification  of 
convicts,  so  as  to  separate  beginners  in  crime  from  hardened  of 
fenders.  Whether  this  can  best  be  done  by  alterations  and  an 
extension  of  the  present  penitentiary  or  by  the  erection  of  a  new 
one,  is  for  your  wisdom  to  determine. 

In  several  other  States  voluntary  associations  have  been 
formed  to  provide  for,  encourage,  and  furnish  employment  to 
discharged  convicts,  and  their  efforts  have  been  of  incalculable 
benefit  to  this  unfortunate  class.  If  a  similar  association  should 
be  formed  by  the  benevolent  citizens  of  Ohio,  they  will  reason 
ably  expect  to  receive  proper  assistance  from  the  General  Assem 
bly,  and  in  that  expectation  I  trust  they  will  not  be  disap 
pointed. 

The  total  number  of  persons  of  school  age  in  the  State,  in 
1869,  was  officially  reported  at  1,023,675— an  increase  of  11,108 
over  the  previous  year.  The  total  number  enrolled  in  the  pub 
lic  schools  in  1869  was  740,382— an  increase  of  8,610  over  the  year 
1868.  The  average  daily  attendance  in  the  public  schools  in 
1869  was  434,865— an  increase  over  1868  of  24,144. 

The  total  taxes  for  schools,  sohcol  buildings,  and  all  other  pur 
poses,  the  present  fiscal  year,  is  $6,578,196.83 — an  increase  over 
the  taxation  of  the  previous  fiscal  year  of  $616,795.68.  Of  this 
increase  of  taxation,  the  sum  of  $17,833.86  is  in  the  State  taxa 
tion  for  school  purposes,  and  the  sum  of  $598,991.82  is  the  in 
crease  of  local  school  taxation. 

The  State  commissioner  of  common  schools,  in  his  report,  will 
recommend  the  adoption  of  county  superintendency,  the  sub 
stitution  of  township  boards  of  education  to  provide  for  the 
present  system  of  township  and  sub  district  boards,  a  codifica 
tion  of  school  laws  and  other  important  measures,  to  which  your 
attention  is  respectfully  called. 

Prior  to  the  organization  of  the  board  of  state  charities  in 
1867,  there  was  no  provision  for  a  systematic  examination  of  the 
benevolent  and  correctional  institutions  under  the  control  of  the 
State  and  local  authorities.  The  members  of  the  board  serve 
without  pecuniary  compensation.  It  is  simple  justice  to  them 


86  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD  B.   HAYES. 

to  say  that  they  have  faithfully  performed  the  thankles^task  of 
investigating  and  reporting  the  defects  in  the  system  and  in  the 
administration  of  our  charitable  and  penal  laws,  and  have  fur 
nished  in  their  reports  information  and  suggestions  of  great 
value.  If  it  is  true  that  an  abuse  exposed  is  half  corrected,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  their  work.  They  have,  their 
reports  show,  discovered  abuses  and  cruelties  practiced,  under 
color  of  law,  in  the  midst  of  communities  noted  for  intelligence 
and  virtue,  which  would  disgrace  any  age.  Let  the  board  be 
granted  increased  powers  and  facilities  for  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,  and  it  will  afford  security — perhaps  the  best  attainable — 
to  the  people  of  the  State,  that  the  munificent  provision  which 
the  laws  make  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  will  not  be  wasted 
or  misapplied  by  the  officials  who  are  charged  with  its  distribu 
tion. 

During  the  last  year  more  than  nine  hundred  persons,  classed 
af  incurably  insane,  have  been  lodged  in  the  county  infirmaries, 
and  almost  one  hundred  have  been  confined  in  the  county  jails. 
Besides  these  a  large  number  of  the  same  class  of  unfortunates 
have  been  taken  care  of  by  relatives  or  friends.  The  State 
should  no  longer  postpone  making  suitable  provision  for  these 
unfortunate  people.  The  treatment  they  receive  in  the  infirm 
aries  and  jails  is  always  of  necessity  unsuited  to  their  condition, 
and  is  often  atrocious.  To  provide  for  them,  I  would  not  re 
commend  an  increase  of  the  number  of  asylums  for  the  insane. 
It  is  believed  by  those  best  acquainted  with  the  subject,  that 
both  economy  and  the  welfare  of  the  patients  require  that  the 
chronic  insane  should  be  provided  for  by  additions  to  the  asy 
lums  already  built,  or  to  those  which  are  now  building.  It  is 
probable  that  in  this  way  such  patients  can  be  supported  at  less 
expense  to  the  people  of  the  State  than  in  infirmaries  and 
jails.  However  this  may  be,  their  present  condition  impera 
tively  demands,  and,  I  trust,  will  receive,  the  serious  considera 
tion  of  the  General  Assembly.  Although  commonly  classed  as 
incurable,  it  is  quite  certain  that,  by  proper  treatment,  in  suit 
able  institutions,  the  condition  of  all  of  them  will  be  vastly  im 
proved,  and,  it  may  well  be  hoped,  that  many  of  them  can  be 
entirely  cured. 

The  expediency  of  establishing  an  asylum  for  the  cure  of  ine 
briates  has  not  been  much  considered  in  Ohio.  The  encourag- 


ELECTED    GOVERNOR   OF   OHIO.  87 


ing  results  which  are  reported  by  the  officers  in  charge  of  the 
State  inebriate  asylum  of  New  York,  induce  me  to  recommend 
that  the  General  Assembly  provide  for  a  full  investigation  of  the 
subject. 

The  agricultural  and  mechanical  college  fund,  created  by  the 
sale  of  land-script  issued  to  Ohio  by  the  National  government, 
amounted,  on  the  first  instant,  to  $404,911.372.  The  State  ac 
cepted  the  grant  out  of  which  this  fund  has  been  created,  Feb 
ruary  10,  1864,  and  is  bound  by  the  terms  of  acceptance,  as  modi 
fied  by  Congress,  to  provide  "  not  less  than  one  college  on  or  be 
fore  July  2,  1872,  where  the  leading  object  shall  be,  without  ex 
cluding  other  scientific  and  classical  studies,  and  including  mili 
tary  tactics,  to  teach  such  branches  of  learning  as  are  related  to 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts."  The  manner  in  which  this 
fund  shall  be  disposed  of  has  been  amply  considered  by  preced 
ing  General  Assemblies,  and  in  the  messages  of  my  predecessors 
in  the  executive  office.  I  respectfully  urge  that  such  action  be 
had  as  will  render  this  fund  available  for  the  important  purposes 
for  which  it  was  granted.  It  is  not  probable  that  further  delay 
will  furnish  additional  information  011  any  of  the  importaut 
questions  involved  in  its  disposition.  Much  time  and  attention 
has  been  given  to  the  subject  of  the  location  of  the  college.  No 
doubt  it  will  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  county  in  which  it  shall 
be  established,  but  the  main  object  of  desire  with  the  people  of 
the  State  can  be  substantially  accomplished  at  any  one  of  the 
places  which  have  been  prominently  named  as  the  site  of  the 
college.  I  therefore  trust  that  the  friends  of  education  will  not 
allow  differences  upon  a  question  of  comparatively  small  impor 
tance  to  the  people  at  large  longer  to  postpone  the  establish 
ment  of  the  institution,  in  compliance  with  the  obligation  of  the 
State. 

A  large  part  of  the  work  required  to  complete  the  "Soldiers' 
Record,"  in  pursuance  of  an  act  passed  March  17,  1864,  has  al 
ready  been  done,  at  an  expense  of  about  $8,000,  and  the  propriety 
of  making  an  appropriation  sufficient  to  enable  the  adjutant- 
general  to  complete  it  is  respectfully  suggested  for  your  consid 
eration. 

During  the  war  for  the  Union,  the  people  of  this  State  ac 
knowledged  their  obligation  to  support  the  families  of  their  ab 
sent  soldiers,  and  undertook  to  meet  it,  not  as  a  charity,  but  as 


88  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

a  partial  compensation  justly  due  for  services  rendered.  The 
Nation  is  saved,  and  the  obligation  to  care  for  the  orphans  of  the 
men  who  died  to  save  it  still  remains  to  be  fulfilled.  It  is  offi 
cially  estimated  that  three  hundred  soldiers'  orphans,  during  the 
past  year,  have  been  inmates  of  the  county  infirmaries  of  the 
State.  It  is  the  uniform  testimony  of  the  directors  of  county 
infirmaries  that  those  institutions  are  wholly  unfit  for  children  ; 
that  in  a  majority  of  cases  they  are  sadly  neglected ;  and  that 
even  in  the  best  infirmaries  the  children  are  subject  to  the  worst 
moral  influences.  Left  by  the  death  of  their  patriotic  fathers  in 
this  deplorable  condition,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  assume 
their  guardianship,  and  to  provide  support,  education,  and 
homes  to  all  who  need  them.  The  people  of  Ohio  regret  that 
this  duty  has  been  so  long  neglected.  I  do  not  doubt  that  it  will 
afford  you  great  gratification  to  give  to  this  subject  early  and 
favorable  attention. 

All  agree  that  a  republican  government  will  fail,  unless  the 
purity  of  elections  is  preserved.  Convinced  that  great  abuses 
of  the  elective  franchise  can  not  be  prevented  under  existing 
legislation,  I  have  heretofore  recommended  the  enactment  of  a 
registry  law,  and  also  of  some  appropriate  measure  to  secure  to 
the  minority,  as  far  as  practicable,  a  representation  upon  all 
boards  of  elections.  There  is  much  opposition  to  the  enactment 
of  a  registry  law.  Without  yielding  my  own  settled  convictions 
in  favor  of  such  a  law,  I  content  myself,  in  this  communication, 
with  urging  upon  your  attention  a  measure  of  reform  in  the 
manner  of  conducting  elections,  the  importance  and  justice  of 
which  no  one  ventures  to  deny.  The  conduct  of  the  officers 
whose  duty  at  elections  it  is  to  receive  and  count  the  ballots, 
and  to  make  returns  of  the  result,  ought  to  be  above  suspicion. 
This  can  rarely  be  the  case  where  they  all  belong  to  the  same 
political  party.  A  fair  representation  of  the  minority  will  go 
far,  not  only  to  prevent  fraud,  but,  what  is  almost  of  equal  im 
portance,  remove  the  suspicion  of  fraud.  I  do  not  express  any 
preference  for  any  particular  plan  of  securing  minority  repre 
sentation  in  the  boards  of  judges  and  clerks  of  elections.  Va 
rious  modes  have  been  suggested,  and  it  will  not  be  difficult  to 
adopt  a  means  of  attaining  the  desired  result  which  will  har 
monize  wi-th  our  system  of  election  law. 

The  re-enactment  of  the  law  securing  to  the  disabled  volun- 


ELECTED   GOVERNOR   OP   OHIO.  89 


teer  soldiers  who  are  inmates  of  the  National  asylum,  near  Day 
ton,  the  right  of  suffrage  in  the  county  and  township  in  which 
said  asylum  is  located,  which  was  repealed  April  17,  1868,  and 
the  repeal  of  the  legislation  of  the  last  General  Assembly,  im 
posing  special  restrictions  upon  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  suf 
frage  by  students  and  by  citizens  having  a  visible  admixture  of 
African  blood,  are  measures  so  clearly  demanded  by  impartial 
justice  and  public  sentiment  that  no  argument  in  their  support 
is  deemed  necessary. 

I  transmit  herewith  the  report  required  by  law  of  the  pardons 
granted  during  the  year  ending  November  15,  1869,  a  report  of 
the  expenditures  of  the  Governor's  contingent  fund,  copies  of 
proclamations  issued  during  the  year,  and  several  communica 
tions  accompanying  gifts  to  the  State  of  portraits  of  former  Gov 
ernors. 

The  most  important  measure  which  it  will  be  your  duty  to 
consider  at  your  present  session  is  the  proposed  amendment  to 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  I  do  not  feel  called  upon 
to  discuss  its  merits.  The  great  body  of  that  part  of  the  people 
of  Ohio  who  sustain  the  laws  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  States 
lately  in  rebellion  believe  that  the  Ofteenth  amendment  is  just 
and  wise.  Many  other  citizens  who  would  not  support  the 
amendment  if  it  was  presented  as  the  inauguration  of  a  new 
policy,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  impartial  suffrage  is  already  es 
tablished  in  the  States  most  largely  interested  in  the  question, 
now  regard  the  amendment  as  the  best  mode  of  getting  rid  of  a 
controversy  which  ought  no  longer  to  remain  unsettled.  Believ 
ing  that  the  measure  is  right,  and  that  the  people  of  Ohio  ap 
prove  it,  I  earnestly  recommend  the  ratification  of  the  fifteenth 
amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 


90  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SECOND   ELECTION   AS   GOVERNOR. 

denomination — Democratic  Platform — Nomination  of 
Hosecrans — Declines — Pendleton  Nominated — Hayes 
at  Wilmington — Election — Second  Inaugural — Civil 
Service.  Reform — Short  Addresses — Letters — Annual 
Message — Democratic  Estimate  of  it — Davidson  Foun 
tain  Address — Message  of  1872 —  Work  Accomplished. 

THE  State  Convention  of  the  Republican  party  of 
Ohio,  which  met  at  Columbus,  June  23,  1869,  nomin 
ated  Governor  Hayes  for  a  second  term  by  acclama 
tion. 

So  acceptable  was  his  two  years'  administration  of 
the  chief  executive  office  of  the  State,  that  no  com 
petitor  entered  the  lists  against  him  or  contended 
with  him  for  the  nomination.  On  the  question  of 
his  renomination  the  unanimity  in  his  party  was  abso 
lute.  He  appeared  before  the  convention,  in  response 
to  its  invitation,  and  delivered  the  speech  printed  in 
the  Appendix  to  this  volume,  which  sounded  the  key 
note  of  the  campaign.  We  ask  the  reader  to  turn,  at 
this  point,  to  this  speech,  as  it  is  impossible  to  epito 
mize  it  without  filling  as  much  space  as  is  filled  by 
the  speech  itself.  The  well-founded  and  well-sup 
ported  charges  he  made  against  the  Democratic  Legis 
lature  of  the  State  brought  upon  him  the  savage 
strictures  of  the  Democratic  partisan  press,  showing 
that  he  had  penetrated  the  weak  point  in  his  adversa 
ries'  somewhat  defenseless  defenses. 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS   GOVERNOR.  91 

The  Republican  platform  condemned  the  reckless 
expenditures  of  the  Legislature,  its  efforts  to  disfran 
chise  soldiers,  students,  and  all  having  African  blood 
in  their  veins,  and  squarely  declared  for  the  ratifica 
tion  of  the  fifteenth  amendment. 

The  Democratic  Convention,  which  assembled  July 
7,  1869,  denounced  the  fifteenth  amendment,  and  had 
much  to  say  about  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States. 
The  platform  contained  these  resolutions,  which  sound, 
at  this  day,  like  an  inscription  from  the  tombs  of  the 
Ptolemys : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  exemption  from  tax  of  over  $2,500,000,000 
in  government  bonds  and  securities  is  unjust  to  the  people  and 
ought  not  to  be  tolerated;  and  that  we  are  opposed  to  any 
appropriation  for  the  payment  of  interest  on  the  bonds  until 
they  are  made  subject  to  taxation. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  claims  of  the  bondholders,  that  the  bonds 
which  were  bought  with  greenbacks,  and  the  principal  of  which 
is  by  law  payable  in  currency,  should  nevertheless  be  paid  in 
gold,  is  unjust  and  extortionate;  and,  if  persisted  in,  will  inev 
itably  force  upon  the  people  the  question  of  repudiation." 

Here  we  have  the  bald  proposition  to  repudiate  the 
interest  on  the  public  debt  unless  it  is  taxed  contrary 
to  law,  as  made  known  by  repeated  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States ;  and  secondly, 
the  direct  threat  to  repudiate  the  principal  of  the  Na 
tional  debt  unless  it  is  paid  off  in  broken  promises  to 
pay.  As  the  greenback  is  simply  a  debt  or  a  due  bill, 
this  paying  debts  with  debts  was  a  patentable  discov 
ery  in  the  science  of  finance.  Taken  in  connection 
with  the  declaration  of  Vallandigham  in  the  canvass 
before,  that  the  whole  bonded  debt  should  be  imme 
diately  "  paid "  in  greenbacks,  the  resolution  simply 


92  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

meant  that  the  war  debt  should  not  be  paid  at  all. 
This  robbing  the  men  whose  money  saved  the  Repub 
lic  was  not  acceptable  then  to  the  farmers  and  laborers 
of  Ohio,  and  will  probably  not  now  be  more  acceptable 
to  the  capitalists  of  New  York.  It  is  well,  however, 
to  recall  the  antecedents  of  a  party  that  first  tried  to  get 
into  power  through  discreditable  expedients,  before  re 
sorting  to  a  declaration  of  honest  principles  in  finance. 

The  convention  took  a  "  new  departure,"  and,  put 
ting  aside  Ranney  and  Pendleton,  nominated  General 
"W.  S.  Rosecrans  for  governor,  who  was  then  absent 
from  the  country.  This  nomination  was  mainly 
brought  about  through  the  zealous  efforts  of  Messrs. 
Vallandigham,  Callen,  and  Baber. 

The  opinions  General  Rosecrans  entertained  of  his 
new-found  friends  were  not  favorable.  In  a  letter 
dated  February  3, 1863,  from  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee, 
General  Rosecrans,  in  speaking  of  the  slave-holding 
insurgents,  had  used  this  language : 

"  Wherever  they  have  the  power  they  drive  before  them  into 
their  ranks  the  Southern  people,  and  they  would  also  drive  us. 
Trust  them  not.  Were  they  able  they  would  invade  and  destroy 
us  without  mercy.  Absolutely  assured  of  these  things,  I  am 
amazed  that  any  one  could  think  of  '  peace  on  any  terms.' 

"  He  who  entertains  the  sentiment  is  fit  only  to  be  a  slave;  he 
who  utters  it  at  this  time  is,  moreover,  a  traitor  to  his  country, 
who  deserves  the  scorn  and  contempt  of  all  honorable  men." 

Rosecrans  declined  the  nomination,  and  George  II. 
Pendleton,  after  just  enough  hesitation  to  impart  a 
proper  value  to  his  consent,  consented  to  fill  the  vacant 
place  at  the  head  of  the  ticket. 

Governor  Hayes,  aided  by  Senator  Morton,  opened 
the  active  campaign  in  a  speech  delivered  at  Wilming- 


SECOND   ELECTION  AS   GOVERNOB.  93 

ton,  August  12,  devoted  mainly  to  the  discussion  of 
National  and  State  finances.  In  the  course  of  this 
speech  Governor  Hayes  said : 

"  When  the  rebellion  broke  out,  what  was  its  chance  for  suc 
cess?  It  had  just  one — a  divided  North.  A  divided  North  was 
its  only  chance.  A  united  North  was  bound  to  crush  the  rebel 
lion  within  two  years  after  the  firing  on  Sumter.  A  divided 
North  encouraged  the  aristocratic  enemies  of  free  government 
in  every  land  to  build  Alabamas  and  Shenandoahs  that  scourged 
the  seas  and  swept  away  our  commerce  from  the  ocean.  A  di 
vided  North  encouraged  the  Emperor  of  France  to  proclaim  to 
everybody  that  sooner  or  later  he  proposed  to  intervene.  A  di 
vided  North  encouraged  rebel  leaders  to  believe  that  sooner  or 
later  our  armies  must  disband  and  come  home. 

"Now,  I  say  to  you  that  Pendleton  was  the  selected  and 
chosen  leader  of  the  Peace  Party  of  the  Northwest — the  leader 
of  the  party  that  made  a  divided  North.  They  talk  of  the  debt 
and  the  great  burden  of  taxation.  We  talked  sadly  of  the  los"s 
of  valuable  lives  that  went  down  in  the  storm  of  battle.  I  say 
to  you  that  the  fact  of  a  divided  North  doubled  the  debt  and 
doubled  the  loss  of  valuable  lives." 

The  campaign  was  an  important  one  to  Mr.  Pendle 
ton.  Had  he  been  successful  he  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  presi 
dency.  A  leading  journal  of  the  State  said :  "  The 
gubernatorial  contest  is  but  a  side-show.  We  are 
already  entering  upon  the  next  presidential  canvass, 
and  Ohio  is  the  key  to  the  position."  Nevertheless, 
Republican  success  was  too  certain  to  make  the  con 
test  so  warm  a  one  as  that  of  two  years  before.  The 
State  had  been  organized  by  townships  and  school 
districts  and  polled.  So  accurate  was  this  poll  that 
predictions  as  to  the  result,  sealed  and  filed  a  week  prior 
to  the  election  by  each  of  the  members  of  the  Republi- 


94  LIFE   OF   RUTIIEKFORD   B.    HAYES. 

can  State  Executive  Committee,  the  writer  being  one, 
varied  only  from  two  hundred  to  three  thousand  votes 
of  the  final  result.  Hayes'  majority  in  '69  was  7,506 — 
a  little  above  the  average  majority.  The  canvass  was 
fought  largely  upon  the  issue  of  the  greenback  pay 
ment  of  the  debt.  The  Pendleton  plan  of  indirect 
repudiation  failed,  and  the  rag  infant  was  decently  in 
terred,  to  await  an  inglorious  resurrection. 

Governor  Hayes  was  reinaugu rated  January  10, 
1870,  on  which  occasion  he  delivered  the  following 
address : 


Gentlemen  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  : 

In  the  annual  message  transmitted  to  the  General  Assembly 
a  few  days  ago,  a  brief  exposition  of  the  condition  of  the  State 
government  was  given,  and  such  measures  were  recommended 
as  the  public  good  seemed  to  me  to  require.  It  will  therefore 
not  be  expected  that  on  this  occasion  I  should  again  discuss 
subjects  pertaining  to  the  usual  routine  of  legislation. 

The  most  important  questions  concerning  State  affairs  which 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  will  engage  the  attention  of  the 
people  of  Ohio,  during  the  term  of  office  upon  which  I  now  en 
ter,  are  those  which  relate  to  the  action  of  a  Constitutional  Con 
vention  authorized  to  be  called  by  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the 
October  election  in  1871.  The  present  organic  law  provides  for 
submitting  to  the  electors  of  the  State,  once  in  twenty  years,  the 
question  of  holding  "  a  convention  to  revise,  alter,  or  amend  the 
constitution."  It  is  no  disparagement  of  the  work  of  the  last 
Constitutional  Convention  to  say  that  experience  has  already 
demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  this  provision.  It  would  be  strange, 
indeed,  if  the  last  eighteen  years  had  developed  no  defects  in 
the  constitution  of  1851. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  improper  at  this  time  to  call  attention  to 
some  of  the  amendments  of  the  existing  fundamental  law  which 
the  next  Constitutional  Convention  will  probably  be  required  to 
consider. 

The  provision  of  the  present  constitution  which  prohibits  the 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS   GOVERNOR.  95 

General  Assembly  from  authorizing  "  any  county,  city,  town,  or 
township,  by  vote  of  its  citizens  or  otherwise,"  from  giving  aid  to 
any  "company,  corporation,  or  association,"  was  designed  to 
remedy  an  evil  of  the  gravest  magnitude.  Unlimited  power  to 
authorize  counties,  cities,  and  towns  to  subscribe  to  the  stock  of 
railroad  companies  had  burdened  the  people  of  the  State  with  in 
debtedness  and  taxation  to  an  extent  which  threatened  bank 
ruptcy.  Experience  has  shown,  however,  that  the  clauses  of 
the  constitution  on  this  subject  are  so  sweeping  that  they  are 
almost  equivalent  to  a  prohibition  of  the  construction  of  rail 
roads,  except  where  those  who  control  the  existing  railroad  lines 
furnish  the  means.  In  many  localities,  the  people  are  thus  de 
prived  of  the  only  artificial  instrumentality  for  intercourse  with 
other  parts  of  the  State  and  country  which  is  now  regarded  as 
valuable.  By  reason  of  it,  important  sources  of  wealth  in  large 
sections  of  the  State  remain  undeveloped.  It  is  believed  that 
amendments  can  be  framed,  under  which  effective  local  aid  can 
be  furnished  for  the  building  of  railroads,  and  which,  at  the  same 
time,  shall  be  so  guarded  and  limited  as  to  prevent  a  dangerous 
abuse  of  the  power. 

For  many  years  political  influence  and  political  services  have 
been  essential  qualifications  for  employment  in  the  civil  service, 
whether  State  or  National.  As  a  general  rule,  such  employ 
ments  are  regarded  as  terminating  with  the  defeat  of  the  politi 
cal  party  under  which  they  began.  All  political  parties  have 
adopted  this  rule.  In  many  offices  the  highest  qualifications  are 
only  obtained  by  experience.  Such  are  the  positions  of  the  war 
den  of  the  penitentiary  and  his  subordinates,  and  the  superin 
tendents  of  asylums  and  reformatories  and  their  assistants. 
But  the  rule  is  applied  to  these  as  well  as  to  other  offices  and 
employments.  A  change  in  the  political  character  of  the  execu 
tive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  government  is  followed  by  a 
change  of  the  officers  and  employes  in  all  of  the  departments 
and  institutions  of  the  State.  Efficiency  and  fidelity  to  duty  do 
not  prolong  the  employment;  unfitness  and  neglect  of  duty  do 
not  always  shorten  it.  The  evils  of  this  system  in  State  affairs 
are,  perhaps,  of  small  moment  compared  with  those  which  pre 
vail  under  the  same  system  in  the  transaction  of  the  business 
of  the  National  government.  But  at  no  distant  day  they  are 
likely  to  become  serious,  even  in  the  administration  of  State  af- 


96  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD  'B.   HAYES. 


fairs.  The  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  various  offices 
and  institutions  of  the  State  must  increase,  under  the  most  eco 
nomical  management,  in  equal  ratio  with  the  growth  of  our 
population  and  business. 

A  radical  reform  in  the  civil  service  of  the  general  govern 
ment  has  been  proposed.  The  plan  is  to  make  qualifications, 
and  not  political  services  and  influence,  the  chief  test  in  deter 
mining  appointments,  and  to  give  subordinates  in  the  civil  ser 
vice  the  same  permanency  of  place  which  is  enjoyed  by  officers 
of  the  army  and  navy.  The  introduction  of  this  reform  will  be 
attended  with  some  difficulties.  But  in  revising  our  State  con 
stitution,  if  this  object  is  kept  constantly  in  view,  there  is  little 
reason  to  doubt  that  it  can  be  successfully  accomplished. 

Our  judicial  system  is  plainly  inadequate  to  the  wants  of  the 
people  of  the.  State.  Extensive  alterations  of  existing  provis 
ions  must  be  made.  The  suggestions  I  desire  to  present  in  this 
connection  are  as  to  the  manner  of  selecting  judges,  their  terms 
•  of  office,  and  their  salaries.  It  is  fortunately  true  that  the  judges 
of  our  courts  have  heretofore  been,  for  the  most  part,  lawyers  of 
learning,  ability,  and  integrity.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  tremendous  events  and  the  wonderful  progress  of  the 
last  few  years  are  working  great  changes  in  the  condition  of  our 
society.  Hitherto  population  has  been  sparse,  property  not  un 
equally  distributed,  and  the  bad  elements  which  so  frequently 
control  large  cities  have  been  almost  unknown  in  our  State. 
But  with  a  dense  population  crowding  into  towns  and  cities, 
with  vast  wealth  accumulating  in  the  hands  of  a  few  persons  or 
corporations,  it  is  to  be  apprehended  that  the  time  is  coming 
when  judges  elected  by  popular  vote,  for  short  official  terms,  and 
poorly  paid,  will  not  possess  the  independence  required  to  pro 
tect  individual  rights.  Under  the  National  constitution,  judges 
are  nominated  by  the  executive  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate, 
and  hold  office  during  good  behavior.  It  is  worthy  of  consid 
eration  whether  a  return  to  the  system  established  by  the  fathers 
is  not  the  dictate  of  the  highest  prudence.  I  believe  that  a  sys 
tem  under  which  judges  are  so  appointed,  for  long  terms  and 
with  adequate  salaries,  will  afford  to  the  citizen  the  amplest  pos 
sible  security  that  impartial  justice  will  be  administered  by  an 
independent  judiciary. 

I  forbear  to  consider  further  at  this  time  the  interesting  ques- 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS    GOVERNOR.  97 

tions  which  will  arise  in  the  revision  and  amendment  of  the 
constitution.  Convinced  of  the  soundness  of  the  maxim  that 
"that  government  is  best  which  governs  least,"  I  would  resist 
the  tendency  common  to  all  systems  to  enlarge  the  functions  of 
government.  The  law  should  touch  the  rights,  the  business,  and 
the  feelings  of  the  citizen  at  as  few  points  as  is  consistent  with 
the  preservation  of  order  and  the  maintenance  of  justice.  If 
every  department  of  government  is  kept  within  its  own  sphere, 
and  every  officer  performs  faithfully  his  own.  duty  without  mag 
nifying  his  office,  harmony,  efficiency,  and  economy  will  prevail. 

Under  the  providence  of  God,  the  people  of  this  State  have 
greatly  prospered.  But  in  their  prosperity  they  can  not  forget 
"  him  who  hath  borne  the  battle,  nor  his  widow,  nor  his  or 
phan,"  nor  the  thousands  of  other  sufferers  in  our  midst,  who 
are  entitled  to  sympathy  and  relief.  They  are  to  be  found 
in  our  hospitals,  our  infirmaries,  our  asylums,  our  prisons,  and  in 
the  abodes  of  the  unfortunate  and  the  erring.  The  Founder  of 
our  religion,  whose  spirit  should  pervade  our  laws,  and  animate 
those  who  enact  and  those  who  enforce  them,  by  His  teaching 
and  His  example,  has  admonished  us  to  deal  with  all  the  victims 
of  adversity  as  the  children  of  our  common  Father.  With  this 
duty  performed,  we  may  confidently  hope  that  for  long  ages  to 
come  our  country  will  continue  to  be  the  home  of  freedom  and 
the  refuge  of  the  oppressed. 

Grateful  to  the  people  of  Ohio  for  the  honors  they  have  con 
ferred,  I  approach  a  second  term  in  the  executive  office,  deeply 
solicitous  to  discharge,  as  far  as  in  me  lies,  the  obligations  and 
duties  which  their  partial  judgment  has  imposed. 

The  most  striking  part  of  the  address  is  that  which 
relates  to  reform  in  the  civil  service  of  the  State 
and  the  Nation.  Governor  Hayes  proposes  to  reform 
the  civil  service  of  the  State  by  means  of  a  constitu 
tional  provision  in  a  new  State  constitution.  This 
method  of  reformation  is  radical,  and,  we  believe,  orig 
inal.  It  suggests  the  pertinent  query,  whether  reform 
in  the  civil  service  of  the  Nation  can  not  be  best  ac 
complished  through  a  new  provision  in  the  National 


98  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

constitution.  Can  permanency  and  stability  be  se 
cured  in  the  civil  service  of  the  Republic  in  any  other 
certain  way  than  by  a  constitutional  amendment? 
Civil  service  reformers  need  hardly  waste  their  time 
discussing  methods  and  systems  less  radical  and  fund 
amental.  It  must  be  recorded  to  the  honor  of  Gov 
ernor  Hayes  that  he,  more  than  six  years  ago,  sug 
gested  the  only  true  solution  to  the  civil  service  prob 
lem,  by  proposing  to  place  that  service  beyond  dis 
turbance  from  the  fluctuating  fortunes  of  political 
parties.  He  has,  therefore,  been  an  advanced  civil 
service  reformer  more  than  the  sixteenth  of  a  century  ; 
not,  like  Mr.  Tilden,  for  six  months  prior  to  a  presi 
dential  election. 

In  December,  1869,  he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  Congress : 
"We  must  have  a  genuine  retrenchment  and  econ 
omy.  The  monthly  reduction  of  the  debt  is  of  far 
more  consequence  than  the  reduction  of  taxation  in 
any  form.  I  hope,  too,  you  will  abolish  the  franking 
privilege  and  adopt  the  general  principles  of  Trum- 
bull's  bill  and  Jencke's  bill.  It  would  please  the  peo 
ple  and  be  right  and  wise." 

It  is  hardly  needful  to  add  that  the  bills  referred  to 
were  the  best  civil  service  bills  then  before  Congress. 

In  this  same  address,  the  governor  boldly  declares 
against  the  heresy  of  an  elective  judiciary,  and  favors 
the  system  established  by  Madison,  Hamilton,  and 
Washington,  which  has  given  us  a  Jay,  a  Story,  and 
a  Marshall. 

During  the  occupancy  of  his  office  as  executive  of 
the  State,  Governor  Hayes,  on  a  vast  variety  of  oc 
casions,  was  called  upon  to  deliver  speeches  and  ad 
dresses  on  all  classes  of  subjects.  These  efforts  are 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS   GOVERNOR.  99 

all  admirable  in  their  way,  and  give  evidences  of  fine 
literary  taste,  great  good  judgment,  and  what  Dick 
ens  called  "  a  sense  of  the  proprieties." 

"We  can  find  space  for  portions  only  of  a  few  of 
these  addresses.  In  an  address  of  welcome  on  the 
occasion  of  the  great  exposition  of  textile  fabrics, 
held  in  Cincinnati,  in  August,  1869,  the  governor  of 
Ohio  said  : 

"  We  meet  at  a  most  auspicious  period  in  our  country's  his 
tory.  Our  greeting  and  welcome  to  citizens  of  other  States  are 
'  without  any  mental  reservation  whatever.'  It  is  plain  that  we 
are  entering  upon  an  era  of  good  feeling,  not  known  before  in 
the  lifetime  of  the  present  generation.  For  almost  half  a  cen 
tury  the  great  sectional  bitterness  which  is  now  so  rapidly  and  so 
happily  disappearing,  and  which  we  know  can  never  be  revived, 
carried  discord,  division,  and  weakness  into  every  enterprise  re 
quiring  the  united  efforts  of  citizens  of  different  States.  Now 
the  causes  of  strife  have  been  swept  away,  and  their  last  vestiges 
will  soon  be  buried  out  of  sight.  Good  men  will  no  longer  waste 
their  strength  in  mutual  crimination  or  recrimination  about  the 
past.  The  people  of  different  sections  of  our  country  will  here 
after  be  able  to  act,  not  merely  with  intelligence  and  energy, 
but  with  entire  harmony  and  unity,  in  any  enterprise  which 
promises  an  increase  of  human  welfare  and  human  happiness. 

"  This  association,  then,  is  working  in  perfect  accord  with  the 
spirit  of  the  times.  The  development  of  new  resources,  the 
opening  of  new  pj^ths  to  skill  and  labor,  the  discovery  of  new 
methods,  the  invention  of  new  machinery  and  implements,  and 
the  employment  of  capital  in  new  and  useful  pursuits — these  are 
the  objects  which  associations  like  this  aim  to  accomplish.  All 
who  encourage  these  things,  and  who  desire  to  aid  in  such 
achievements,  deserve  a  hearty  welcome  wherever  they  may  go, 
and  will,  I  assure  you,  always  find  it,  as  you  do  now,  in  the  State 
of  Ohio." 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Secretary  Stanton,  and  near 
the  beginning  of  the  governor's  second  term,  a  meet- 


100  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

iug  of  members  of  the  Ohio  bar  was  held  in  the  room 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ohio,  to  take  action  with 
reference  to  the  loss  of  their  former  associate  and 
friend.  On  this  occasion  Governor  Hayes  said  : 

"  I  shall  not  undertake  to  describe  the  life  and  character  and 
services  of  Mr.  Stanton.  Few  men — very  few  men — ever  pos 
sessed  such  learning,  such  intellect,  such  energy,  such  courage, 
such  will,  such  honesty,  such  patriotism,  in  one  word,  such  man 
hood,  as  belonged  to  him.  All  of  his  great  powers  and  qualities 
he  gave  to  the  performance  of  duty,  and  with  them  he  gave  also 
life  itself. 

"Our  profession  rejoices  that  Mr.  Stanton  was  an  eminent 
lawyer.  Our  State  rejoices  that  he  was  her  great  son.  Our 
country  and  our  age  may  well  rejoice  that  he  lived  in  this  age 
and  in  this  country.  The  members  of  our  profession,  the  peo 
ple  of  our  State  and  of  the  Nation,  and  all  mankind  do  honor 
to  themselves  in  striving  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  such  a 
man  as  Edwin  M.  Stanton." 

It  can  be  readily  understood  why  a  robust,  positive, 
hard-fighting  soldier  like  Hayes,  should  so  ardently 
give  his  admiration  to  a  firm-sinewed,  iron-nerved, 
masculine  man  like  the  great  minister  of  war. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  1870,  the  colored  people  of 
Central  Ohio  celebrated  the  adoption  of  the  Fifteenth 
Amendment  at  an  immense  meeting  held  in  the  opera 
house  in  Columbus.  Governor  Hayes ,*as  their  chosen 
orator,  delivered  the  following  brief  address,  which 
seems  the  inspiration  of  one  who  has  the  logic  of  his 
tory  in  his  head  and  humanity  in  his  heart : 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  : — We  celebrate  to-night  the  final  triumph  of 
a  righteous  causo  after  a  long,  eventful,  memorable  struggle. 
The  conflict  which  Mr.  Seward  pronounced  "  irrepressible  "  at 
last  is  ended.  The  house  which  was  divided  against  itself,  and 
which,  therefore,  according  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  could  not  stand  as  it 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS   GOVERNOR.  101 


was,  is  divided  no  longer ;  and  we  may  now  rationally  hope  that 
under  Providence  it  is  destined  to  stand — long  to  stand  the 
home  of  freedom,  and  the  refuge  of  the  oppressed  of  every  race 
and  of  every  clime. 

The  great  leading  facts  of  the  contest  are  so  familiar  that  I 
need  riot  attempt  to  recount  them.  They  belong  to  the  history  of 
two  famous  wars — the  war  of  the  Revolution  and  the-  war  of  the 
Rebellion — and  are  part  of  the  story  of  almost  a  hundred  years 
of  civil  strife.  They  began  with  Bunker  Hill  and  Yorktown, 
with  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution.  They  end  with  Fort  Sumter  and  the  fall 
of  Richmond,  with  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  and  the 
Anti-Slavery  and  Equal  Rights  Amendments  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  Nation.  These  long  and  anxious  years  were  not  years  of 
unbroken  ceaseless  warfare.  There  were  periods  of  lull,  of 
truce,  of  compromise.  But  every  lull  was  short-lived,  every  truce 
was  hollow,  and  every  compromise,  however  pure  the  motives  of 
its  authors,  proved  deceitful  and  vain.  There  could  be  no  last 
ing  peace  until  the  great  wrong  was  destroyed,  and  impartial 
justice  established. 

The  history  of  this  period  is  adorned  with  a  long  list  of  illus 
trious  names — with  the  names  of  men  who  were  indeed  "  Solo 
mons  in  council  and  Sampsons  in  the  field."  At  its  beginning 
there  were  Washington,  Franklin,  and  Hamilton,  and  their  com 
peers  ;  and  in  the  last  great  crisis  Providence  was  equally  graci 
ous,  and  gave  us  such  men  as  Lincoln,  and  Stanton,  and  George 
11.  Thomas. 

All  who  faithfully  bore  their  part  in  the  great  conflict  may 
now  with  grateful  hearts  rejoice  that  it  is  forever  ended. 

The  newly-made  citizens  who  seem  to  carry  off  the  lion's  share 
of  the  fruits  of  the  victory — it  is  especially  fitting  and  proper  that 
they  should  assemble  to  congratulate  each  other,  and  to  be  con 
gratulated  by  all  of  us  that  they  now  enjoy  for  the  first  time 
in  full  measure  the  blessings  of  freedom  and  manhood. 

Those,  also,  who  have  opposed  many  of  the  late  steps  in  the 
great  progress — it  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  so  large  a  number 
of  them  gracefully  acquiesce  in  the  decision  of  the  Nation. 

The  war  of  races,  which  it  was  so  confidently  predicted  would 
follow  the  enfranchisement  of  the  colored  people — where  was  it 
in  the  elections  in  Ohio  last  week?  In  a  few  localities  the  old 


102  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFOKD   B.   HAYES. 


prejudice  and  fanaticism  made,  we  hope,  their  last  appearance. 
There  was  barely  enough  angry  dissent  to  remind  us  of  the  bar 
barism  of  slavery  which  has  passed  away  forever.  Generally 
throughout  the  State,  and  especially  in  the  cities  of  Cincinnati. 
Cleveland,  Columbus,  Dayton,  and  Toledo,  where  the  new  ele 
ment  is  large,  those  who  strove  to  avert  the  result  over  which  we 
rejoice,  leaders  as  well  as  followers,  were  conspicuous  in  setting 
an  example  of  obedience  to  the  law. 

Not  the  least  among  the  causes  for  congratulation  to-night  is 
the  confidence  we  have  that  the  enfranchised  people  will  prove 
worthy  of  American  citizenship.  No  true  patriot  wishes  to  see 
them  exhibit  a  blind  and  unthinking  attachment  to  mere  party; 
but  all  good  men  wish  to  see  them  cultivate  habits  of  industry  and 
thrift,  and  to  exhibit  intelligence  and  virtue,  and  at  every  elec 
tion  to  be  earnestly  solicitous  to  array  themselves  on  the  side  of 
law  and  order,  liberty  and  progress,  education  and  religion. 

The  following  letters,  written  during  1870,  have 
come  under  our  observation.  We  reproduce  them 
because  they  exhibit  to  some  extent  opinions  and 
character. 

In  one  dated  March  1,  1870,  these  passages  occur: 

"  I  also  agree  with  you  perfectly  on  the  spoils  doctrine.  This 
you  would  know  if  you  had  read  my  last  inaugural.  I  am  glad 
you  do  not  bore  yourself  with  such  reading  generally,  but  you  are 
in  for  it  now,  as  I  shall  send  you  a  copy.  I,  too,  mean  to  be  out 
of  politics.  The  ratification  of  the  Fifteenth  Amendment  gives 
me  the  boon  of  equality  before  the  law,  terminates  my  enlist 
ment,  and  discharges  me  cured." 

Another  letter,  dated  June  2d,  in  reply  to  a  stranger 
in  Baltimore,  shows  his  tender  regard  for  the  private 
soldier,  whether  he  be  living  or  dead  : 

"  I  acknowledge  with  great  gratification  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  the  30th,  informing  me  of  your  patriotic  attention  to 
the  grave  of  an  Ohio  soldier  in  your  city  on  Decoration  Day. 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS    GOVERNOR.  103 

Be  pleased  to  accept  my  thanks  for  your  generous  action,  and  for 
courtesy  of  your  letter." 

To  a  friend  in  Congress  he  writes,  on  June  13th  : 

"  You  will  as  astonished  as  I  was  by  this  decision  as  to  the 
right  of  the  soldiers  to  vote  at  the  Dayton  National  Asylum. 
But  there  it  is.  How  can  we  get  rid  of  it  ?  Can  you  pass  an  act 
of  Congress  that  will  avoid  it  ?  1  feel  like  saying  that  the  soldiers 
must  vote  as  usual,  and  test  the  case  again.  I  merely  call  your 
attention  to  it  with  a  view  to  Congressional  action.  You  recol 
lect  the  act  ceding  jurisdiction  expressly  provided  that  residents 
of  Ohio  retained  the  right  to  vote." 

To  the  president  of  the  Commercial  Union  of  New 
York  he  wrote,  June  20th  : 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of 
the  10th  instant,  inviting  me  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Com 
mercial  Union  of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  be  held  in  the  city 
of  Rochester  on  the  15th  of  July  next,  and  to  express  my  regret 
that  prior  engagements  will  prevent  me  from  being  present  on 
that  occasion.  The  subject  to  be  considered — cheap  transporta 
tion  between  the  East  and  West— is  of  importance  to  the 
whole  country,  and  especially  to  the  State  of  Ohio.  Earnestly 
hoping  that  the  deliberations  of  the  meeting  will  greatly  pro 
mote  this  object,  I  remain,  etc." 

January  3,  1871,  Governor  Hayes  delivered  the  fol 
lowing  important  annual  message : 

Fellow-Citizens  of  the  General  Assembly : 

The  official  reports,  which  the  law  requires  to  be  annually 
made  to  the  governor,  show  that  the  affairs  of  the  various  de 
partments  of  the  State  government  and  of  the  State  institutions 
have  been  conducted  during  the  past  year  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  give  a  synopsis  of  the  facts  and  figures 
which  the  reports  contain.  The  most  important  parts  of  them 
have  been  spread  before  the  people  of  the  State  by  the  news- 


104  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


paper  press,  and  the  details  which  may  be  desired  with  a  view 
to  legislation  can  be  best  obtained  from  the  reports  themselves. 

I  also  refrain  from  making  many  recommendations.  Believ 
ing  that  too  frequent  changes  of  the  laws  and  too  much  legisla 
tion  are  serious  evils,  I  respectfully  suggest  that  upon  many  sub 
jects  it  may  be  well  to  defer  legislation  until  the  people  have 
acted  upon  the  question  of  calling  a  constitutional  convention. 
If  such  a  convention  shall  be  called,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
the  General  Assembly  will  be  clothed  with  powers  essentially  dif 
ferent  from  those  conferred  by  the  present  fundamental  law  in 
respect  to  the  judiciary,  railroads,  intemperance,  and  many 
other  important  subjects,  and  that  the  legislature  itself  will  be 
so  constituted  as  to  secure  to  minorities  a  fairer  representation 
than  they  now  enjoy. 

The  balance  in  the  State  treasury  on  the  15th  of  November, 
1869,  was  $438,060.14;  the  receipts  during  the  year  were  $4,399,- 
932.53 ;  making  the  total  amount  of  available  funds  in  the  treas 
ury  during  the  year  $4,837,992.67. 

The  disbursements  during  the  year  have  been  $4,071,954.57; 
leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury,  November  15,  1870,  of  $766,- 
038.10. 

The  estimates  of  the  auditor  of  State  for  the  current  year  are 
as  follows : 

Estimated  receipts  from  all  sources,  including  balances,  $5,670,- 
205.10;  estimated  disbursements  for  all  purposes,  $5,163,976.01; 
leaving  an  estimated  balance  in  the  treasury,  November,  15, 1871, 
of  $506,229.09. 

The  public  funded  debt  of  the  State  on  the  15th  of  November, 
1869,  after  deducting  the  amount  invested  in  loans  not  yet  due, 
was  $9,855,938.27.  During  the  last  year  there  has  been  redeemed 
of  the  various  loans,  and  invested  in  loans  not  yet  due,  the  sum 
of  $123,860.36,  leaving  the  total  debt  due  November  15,  1870, 
$9,732,077.91. 

The  fund  commissioners  were  prepared  to  pay  off  a  larger 
amount  of  the  debt  than  has  been  actually  discharged  during 
the  year,  but  none  of  the  bonds  of  the  State  were  due,  and  some 
of  the  holders  demanded  ten  or  twelve  per  cent,  premium,  and 
others  refused  to  surrender  their  bonds  at  any  price. 

The  constant  and  rapid  increase  of  taxation  demands  consid 
eration.  The  following  table,  showing  the  taxation  for  different 


SECOND   ELECTION    AS    GOVERNOR. 


105 


purposes  in  1860  and  in  1870,  and  the  increase  of  taxation  in  ten 
years,  sufficiently  exhibits  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  evil . 


AMOUNT   OF    TAXES    LEVIED. 


For  what  purpose. 

1860. 

1870. 

Increase. 

County  taxes 

$1  309  137  46 

$1  975  088  71 

$665  951  25 

Bridge  taxes 

437538  40 

1  474148  18 

1036609  78 

Poor  taxes         . 

260607  20 

657  116  42 

396  509  22 

Building  taxes   .      ... 

228  444  1  3 

733960  73 

505  516  60 

Road  taxes  ..    

394  494  77 

1  199  767  26 

805  342  49 

Railroad  taxes  

538869  50 

461  848  72 

Township  taxes  

349  360  86 

734  585  65 

385224  79 

T'p  and  sub-district  and 
district  school  taxes... 
Other  special  taxes 

1,487,247  44 
349  236  33 

4,960,771  87 
1  152  335  09 

3,473,524  43 

803098  76 

City  and  town  taxes  
Delinquent  taxes  

1,506,083  86 
453013  46 

5,447,766  96 
667  188  69 

3.941,683  10 
214  175  23 

Other  than  State  taxes... 

7,313,963  41 
3  503  712  93 

19,464,578  28 
4  666  242  23 

12,227,635  65 
1  162  529  30 

Totals    

$10,817,676  34 

$24  130820  51 

$13,390164  95 

This  table  shows  that  in  ten  years  the  State  taxes  have  in 
creased  thirty-three  per  cent.,  and  that  local  taxes  have  increased 
almost  one  hundred  and  seventy  per  cent. ;  in  other  words,  that 
less  than  one-tenth  of  the  increase  has  been  in  State  taxes,  and 
more  than  nine-tenths  in  local  taxes. 

The  increase  of  local  taxation  has  been  far  greater  than  the 
growth  of  the  State  in  business,  population,  or  wealth.  It  is 
not  to  be  doubted  that  this  burden  has  grown  to  dimensions 
which  seriously  threaten  the  prosperity  of  the  State. 

No  full  and  exact  statement  can  be  made  from  the  official  re 
ports  as  to  the  amount  annually  collected  from  the  property- 
holders  of  the  State  in  the  form  of  special  assessments  for  what 
are  termed  local  improvements,  but  it  is  certain  that  this  burden 
is  also  great  and  rapidly  growing. 

The  auditor  of  State  reports  cases  in  which  such  assessments 


106  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


have  been  made,  amounting  to  half  of  the  cash  value  of  the 
property  on  which  they  were  levied,  and,  in  one  case  which  he 
refers  to,  the  assessment  was  double  the  value  of  the  property. 

In  respect  to  these  evils  it  is  undoubtedly  easier  to  find  fault 
than  to  provide  a  remedy.  No  single  measure  will  remove 
them.  Probably  no  system  of  measures  which  the  General  As 
sembly  can  adopt  will  of  themselves  accomplish  what  is  desired. 
A  complete  reform  is  impossible,  unless  the  city,  county,  and 
other  officers  are  disposed  and  thoroughly  competent  to  do  the 
work  of  cutting  off  every  unnecessary  expenditure. 

Much,  however,  can  be  accomplished  by  wise  legislation.  Let 
the  General  Assembly  firmly  adhere  to  the  policy  of  the  consti 
tution,  and  refuse  to  enact  special  laws  granting  powers  to  tax 
or  make  assessments.  Let  such  powers  be  exercised  only  in 
pursuance  of  general  laws.  Local  authorities  should  be  empow 
ered  to  levy  no  higher  rate  of  taxation  than  is  absolutely  re 
quired  for  practical  efficiency  under  ordinary  circumstances. 
In  extraordinary  cases  general  laws  should  provide  for  the  sub 
mission  of  the  proposed  tax  or  assessment  to  the  people  to  be 
affected  by  it,  under  such  regulations  that  it  can  not  be  levied 
unless  at  least  two-thirds  of  the  tax-payers  approve  the  measure. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  articles  of  the  present  State  consti 
tution  is  that  which  prohibits  the  State,  save  in  a  few  exceptional 
cases,  from  creating  any  debt,  and  which  provides  for  the  pay 
ment  at  an  early  day  of  the  debt  already  contracted.  I  am 
convinced  that  it  would  be  wise  to  extend  the  same  policy  to 
the  creation  of  public  debts  by  county,  city,  and  other  local  au 
thorities.  The  rule  "  pay  as  you  go  "  leads  to  economy  in  public 
as  well  as  in  private  affairs ;  while  the  power  to  contract  debts 
opens  the  door  to  wastefulness,  extravagance,  and  corruption. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  State,  when  capital  was  scarce  and 
expensive  public  works  were  required  for  transporting  the  pro 
ducts  of  the  State  to  market,  public  debts  were  probably  una 
voidable;  but  the  time,  I  believe,  has  come  when  not  only  the 
State,  but  all  of  its  subordinate  divisions,  ought  to  be  forbidden 
to  incur  debt.  The  same  rule  on  this  subject  ought  to  be  ap 
plied  to  local  authorities  which  the  constitution  applies  to  the 
State  legislature.  Experience  has  proved  that  the  power  to  con 
tract  debt  is  as  liable  to  abuse  by  local  boards  as  it  is  by  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly.  If  it  is  important  to  the  people  that  the  State 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS    GOVERNOR.  107 

should  be  free  from  debt,  it  is  also  important  that  its  municipal 
divisions  should  not  have  power  to  oppress  them  with  the  burden 
of  local  indebtedness. 

It  would  promote  an  economical  administration  of  the  laws 
if  all  officers,  State,  county,  and  municipal,  including  the  mem 
bers  of  the  legislature,  were  paid  fixed  salaries. 

Under  existing  laws  a  part  of  the  public  officers  are  paid  by 
fees  and  a  part  by  fixed  annual  salaries  or  by  a  per  diem  allow 
ance.  The  result  is  great  inequality  and  injustice.  Many  of 
those  who  are  paid  by  fees  receive  a  compensation  out  of  all  pro 
portion  to  the  services  rendered.  Others  are  paid  salaries 
wholly  inadequate.  For  example,  many  county  officers  and 
some  city  officers  receive  greater  compensation  than  the  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State.  The  salaries  paid  to  the 
judges  ought  to  be  increased  ;  the  amount  paid  to  many  other 
public  officers  ought  to  be  reduced.  To  do  justice,  a  system  of 
fixed  salaries,  without  fees  or  perquisites,  should  be  adopted. 
The  people  of  Ohio  will,  without  question,  sustain  an  increase 
of  the  salaries  of  judges  and  of  other  officers  who  are  now  inad 
equately  paid  ;  but  it  can  probably  best  be  done  as  a  part  of  a 
system  which  would  prevent  the  payment  to  public  officers  of 
enormous  sums  by  means  of  fees  and  perquisites.  To  remove 
all  ground  of  complaint,  on  account  of  injustice  to  present  in 
cumbents,  the  new  system  should  apply  only  to  those  elected 
after  its  adoption. 

In  addition  to  considerations  already  presented  in  favor  of  a 
revision  of  the  rates  of  taxation  which  local  officers  and  boards 
are  authorized  to  levy,  another  controlling  reason  is  not  to  be 
omitted.  By  the  recent  revaluation  of  real  estate  the  total  basis 
of  taxation  for  the  State  at  large  will  probably  be  increased 
almost  forty  percent.,  and  in  many  of  the  cities  the  increase  will 
be  nearly  one  hundred  per  cent.  This  renders  it  imperatively 
necessary  to  revise  the  present  rates,  so  as  to  prevent  the  collec 
tion  and  expenditure  of  sums  much  greater  than  the  public  good 
demands. 

Under  prudent  and  efficient  management  the  earnings  of  the 
penitentiary  continue  to  exceed  its  expenses,  and  at  the  same 
time  gratifying  progress  has  been  made  in  improving  the  condi 
tion  and  treatment  of  the  prisoners.  The  hateful  and  degrading 
uniform  of  past  years  is  disappearing;  increased  means  of  edu* 


108  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


cation,  secular  and  religious,  are  afforded,  and  the  officers  of  the 
institution  exhibit  an  earnest  desire  to  employ  every  instru 
mentality  authorized  by  existing  laws  to  restore  its  inmates  to 
society  improved  in  habits,  capacity,  and  character. 

While  much  has  been  done  in  our  State  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  for  the  improvement  of  prison  discipline,  it  is  not  to 
be  denied  that  much  more  yet  remains  unaccomplished. 

Assuming  that  the  time  has  not  arrived  to  attempt  a  radical 
change  of  our  prison  discipline,  the  following  practical  sugges 
tions,  consistent  with  the  present  system,  are  offered  for  your 
consideration :  A  convict  is  now  allowed  a  deduction  from  the 
period  of  his  sentence  as  a  reward  for  good  behavior.  The 
power  to  extend  the  period  of  the  sentence  as  a  punishment  for 
bad  conduct  would  also,  under  proper  regulations,  exercise  a 
wholesome  influence  in  the  discipline  of  the  prison. 

The  importance  of  classification  among  convicts  is  now  uni 
versally  admitted.  For  economical  or  other  reasons  the  estab 
lishment  of  an  intermediate  prison  will  perhaps  be  deemed 
inexpedient  at  this  time.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  by  em 
ploying  convict  labor  the  additional  buildings  and  improvements 
required  for  a  satisfactory  classification  can  be  erected  on  the 
ground  adjoining  the  old  prison,  recently  purchased  and  now 
inclosed,  at  a  small  expense  compared  with  the  cost  of  a  new 
prison.  This  plan,  it  is  hoped,  will  receive  your  careful  consid 
eration. 

It  is  also  recommended  that  the  Board  of  State  Charities  be 
empowered  to  aid  discharged  convicts  to  obtain  honest  employ 
ment.  An  annual  appropriation  of  a  small  sum  for  this  purpose, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  would  probably  save  a  large  num 
ber,  who,  without  such  help,  would  again  return  to  a  criminal 
course  of  life. 

The  most  defective  part  of  our  present  prison  system  is  prob 
ably  our  county  jails.  It  is  supposed  about  8,000  persons  pass 
through  our  county  jails  each  year.  They  are  generally  persons 
charged  with  crimes  and  awaiting  trial.  But  lunatics  and  petty 
offenders  in  considerable  numbers  are  also  confined  in  these 
places.  The  young  and  the  old,  the  innocent  and  the  guilty, 
hardened  offenders  and  beginners  in  crime,  are  commonly  min 
gled  together  in  the  jails,  under  few  restraints,  without  useful 
occupation  and  with  abundant  leisure  and  temptation  to  learn 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS    GOVERNOR.  109 


wickedness.  The  jails  have  been  fitly  termed  nurseries  of 
crime.  Plans  of  jails,  not  too  expensive,  have  been  furnished 
by  the  Board  of  State  Charities,  which  provide  for  the  absolute 
separation  of  the  prisoners.  It  is  recommended  that  the  law 
shall  require  all  jails  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  entirely  prevent 
this  promiscuous  and  dangerous  intercourse. 

Your  attention  is  particularly  called  to  the  recommendation 
of  the  Board  of  State  Charities  that  the  proper  authorities  of  all 
of  the  cities  of  the  State  should  be  required  to  make  full  re 
ports  annually  to  the  legislature,  through  the  governor,  of  the 
statistics  of  vice  and  crime  and  of  the  work  of  the  police  de 
partment  in  such  cities ;  and  also  to  the  suggestion  that  prose 
cuting  attorneys  should  not  be  allowed  to  enter  a  nolle  prosequl 
in  any  case  of  an  indictment  for  a  crime  punishable  by  impris 
onment  in  the  penitentiary  or  by  death,  without  the  written  ap 
proval  of  the  attorney-general  first  given  upon  a  written  report 
to  him  of  the  facts. 

The  importance  of  this  is  sufficiently  shown  by  the  fact  that 
in  1869  the  number  of  cases  in  which  a  nolle  prosequi  was  entered 
exceeded  fifteen  hundred. 

The  Girls'  Reformatory  at  White  Sulphur  Springs  contains 
forty-nine  inmates,  and  it  is  now  demonstrated  that  the  number 
is  likely  to  increase  as  rapidly  as  the  welfare  of  the  institution 
will  allow.  Whatever  doubts  may  have  been  reasonably  enter 
tained  as  to  the  necessity  for  such  an  institution  prior  to  its  es 
tablishment,  the  report  of  the  directors  and  superintendent  and 
a  thorough  investigation  of  the  facts  will,  it  is  believed,  satisfy 
you  that  the  institution  is  a  very  important  one,  and  ought  to  be 
liberally  supported. 

The  report  of  the  superintendent  and  trustees  of  the  Soldiers' 
Orphans'  Home  will  engage  your  earnest  attention.  The  duty 
of  providing  for  the  education  and  support  of  the  children  of 
the  soldiers  of  Ohio  who  fell  in  the  war  for  the  Union  was  fully 
recognized  by  the  resolutions  and  acts  of  your  last  session.  It 
is  not  doubted  that  your  action  was  in  accordance  with  the  will 
of  the  people  of  the  State,  and  they  earnestly  desire  that  the 
duty  of  caring  for  the  soldiers'  orphans  shall  be  performed  in  a 
manner  that  will  worthily  express  the  affection  and  gratitude 
with  which  these  wards  of  the  State  must  ever  be  regarded  by 
a  just  and  patriotic  community.  I  therefore  respectfully  recom- 


110  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

mend  that  the  legislation  deemed  necessary  by  the  hoard  and 
officers  in  charge  of  the  institution  he  enacted  as  promptly  as 
practicable. 

The  report  of  the  geological  survey,  to  be  laid  before  you,  ex 
hibits  the  encouraging  progress  of  that  work.  The  future  growth 
of  Ohio  in  wealth  and  population  will  depend  largely  on  the 
development  of  the  mining  and  manufacturing  resources  of  the 
State.  Heretofore,  our  increase  in  capital  and  numbers  has  been 
chiefly  due  to  agriculture.  Important  as  that  great  interest  will 
always  be  in  Ohio,  the  recent  census  shows  that  we  may  not 
reasonably  anticipate,  in  future,  rapid  growth  in  population  or 
wealth  from  agriculture  alone.  Without  calling  in  question  the 
great-  and  immediate  benefit  to  accrue  to  agriculture  from  the 
geological  survey,  it  is  yet  true  that  the  tendency  of  its  exhibition 
of  our  vast  mineral  wealth  is  to  encourage  the  employment  of 
labor  and  capital  in  mining  and  manufacturing  enterprises.  Let 
the  work  be  continued  and  sustained  by  ample  appropriations. 

It  is  necessary  that  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  present  ses 
sion,  should  adopt  the  requisite  legislation  to  carry  into  effect 
the  following  requirement  of  the  constitution:  Sec.  3,  article  16, 
of  the  constitution,  provides  that  "  at  the  general  election  to  be 
held  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-one, 
and  in  each  twentieth  year  thereafter,  the  question,  '  Shall  there 
be  a  convention  to  revise,  alter,  or  amend  the  constitution  ?'  shall 
be  submitted  to  the  electors  of  the  State,  and  in  case  a  majority 
of  all  the  electors  voting  at  such  election  shall  decide  in  favor 
of  such  a  convention,  the  General  Assembly,  at  its  next  session, 
shall  provide  by  law  for  the  election  of  delegates  and  the  assem 
bling  of  such  convention." 

In  conclusion,  1  feel  warranted  in  congratulating  you  on  the 
favorable  judgment  of  your  constituents  upon  your  action  on 
the  important  subjects  which  were  considered  at  your  last  ses 
sion,  and  in  expressing  a  confident  hope  that  what  remains  to 
be  done  will,  under  Providence,  be  so  wisely  ordered  that  the 
true  interests  of  all  the  people  of  the  State  will  be  greatly  and 
permanently  advanced. 

Without  comments  of  our  own,  we  will  simply  give 


SECOND  ELECTION  AS  GOVERNOR.         Ill 

the  opinions  of  Democratic  journals  concerning  this 
message. 

The  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  of  January  4,  1871,  said : 

"  The  message  of  Governor  Hayes  is  a  plain,  straightforward, 
and  sensible  document,  and  in  every  respect  is  creditable  to 
him." 

The  Columbus  Crisis  said  : 

"  The  annual  message  of  Governor  R.  B.  Hayes,  printed  in  this 
issue,  is  a  very  fair  and  plain  statement  of  the  condition  of  the 
affairs  of  the  State,  and  is  especially  commendable  for  its  brevity 
and  practical  purport." 

The  Steubenville  Gazette  characterized  this  message 
as — 

"An  excellent  and  appropriate  document — short  and  compre 
hensive — and,  as  it  should  be,  devoted  wholly  to  State  affairs." 

The  Cincinnati  Commoner,  ultra  Democratic,  de 
clared  : 

"  The  message  is  brief,  but  full  of  wisdom,  and  deserves  the 
study  of  every  citizen." 

The  correspondence  of  1871  from  the  executive 
office  reveals  letters  like  these : 

"  I  long  since,  in  conversation,  announced  my  wish  and  purpose 
to  withdraw  from  the  race  for  important  positions  in  public 
affairs.  I  meant  this  announcement  to  apply  both  to  the  office 
I  now  hold  and  the  senatorship.  That  purpose  remains  un 
changed." 

A  letter  of  May  5th,  to  a  distinguished  New  York 
journalist,  says  : 


112  LIFE   OF    RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

"  Your  article  on  the  Ohio  governorship  is  of  course  satisfac 
tory  to  me,  but  you  will  not  object  to  two  corrections.  I  have 
not  been  and  shall  not  be  a  candidate  for  renomination.  I 
probably  could  without  effort  have  been  renominated,  but  usage 
and  personal  inclination  were  against  it.  The  more  serious  er 
ror  is :  You  omit  to  name  the  Republican  candidate  who  is  nearly 
certain  of  the  nomination  and  election.  General  Edward  F. 
Noyes,  of  Cincinnati,  a  brave  and  popular  soldier,  who  lost  a  leg 
in  the  Atlanta  campaign ;  an  eloquent  and  attractive  speaker. 
and  a  gentleman  of  integrity  and  purity  of  character,  will,  I 
think,  without  question,  be  nominated.  He  is  the  sort  of 
man  you  would  support  heartily  if  you  lived  in  Ohio." 

On  the  6th  of  October,  1871,  Governor  Hayes  de 
livered  the  striking  address  we  give  below,  on  the  oc 
casion  of  the  inauguration  of  the  celebrated  Davidson 
fountain,  in  Cincinnati.  This  fountain,  in  design  and 
execution,  is  a  work  of  art  of  extraordinary  merit. 

Fellow-Citizens : 

It  is  altogether  fitting  that  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati  should 
feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  occasion  which  has  called  together 
this  large  assemblage.  It  is  well  to  do  honor  to  this  noble  gift, 
and  to  do  honor  to  the  generous  giver.  This  work  lends  a  new 
charm  to  the  whole  city. 

Longfellow's  lines  in  praise  of  the  Catawba  that  grows  on  the 
banks  of  the  Beautiful  River  gives  to  the  Catawba  a  finer  flavor, 
and  renders  the  Beautiful  River  still  more  beautiful.  When  art 
and  genius  give  to  us  in  marble  or  on  canvas  the  features  of  those 
we  admire  or  love,  ever  afterward  we  discover  in  their  faces  and 
in  their  characters  more  to  admire  and  more  to  love. 

This  work  makes  Cincinnati  a  pleasanter  city,  her  homes  more 
happy,  her  aims  worthier,  and  her  future  brighter. 

But  this  fountain  does  not  pour  out  its  blessings  for  Cincinnati 
or  for  her  visitors  and  guests  alone.  Cincinnati  is  one  of  the 
central  cities  of  the  Nation — of  the  great  continent.  It  is  be 
coming  the  convention  city.  Witness  the  National  assemblies 
in  the  interest  of  commerce,  of  industry,  of  education,  of  be- 


SECOND   ELECTION  AS   GOVERNOR.  113 

nevolence,  of  progress,  of  religion,  which  annually  gather  here 
from  the  most  distant  parts  of  America.  This  monument  is  an 
instructor  of  all  who  come.  Whoever  beholds  it  will  carry  away 
some  part  of  the  lesson  it  teaches.  The  duty  which  the  citizen 
owes  to  the  community  in  which,  and  by  which,  he  has  pros 
pered,  that  duty  this  work  will  forever  teach.  No  rich  man  who 
is  wise  will,  in  the  presence  of  this  example,  willingly  go  to  his 
grave  with  his  debt  to  the  public  unpaid  and  unprovided  for. 
Many  a  last  will  and  testament  will  have  a  beneficent  codicil, 
suggested  by  the  work  we  inaugurate  to-day.  Parks,  fountains, 
schools,  galleries  of  art,  libraries,  hospitals,  churches — whatever 
benefits  and  elevates  mankind — will  here  receive  much  needed 
encouragement  and  support. 

This  work  says  to  him  who,  with  anxious  toil  and  care,  has 
successfully  gathered  and  hoarded — Do  not  neglect  your  great  op 
portunity.  Divide  wisely  and  equitably  between  the  few  who 
are  most  nearly  of  your  own  blood,  and  the  many  who  in  kin 
ship  are  only  a  little  farther  removed.  If  you  regard  only  those 
reared  under  your  own  roof,  your  cherished  estate  will  soon  bo 
scattered,  perhaps  wasted  by  profligate  heirs  in  riotous  living,  to 
their  own  ruin,  and  you  and  your  fortune  will  quickly  be  for 
gotten.  Give  a  share — pay  a  tithe  to  your  more  distant  and 
more  numerous  kindred — to  the  general  public,  and  you  will  be 
gratefully  remembered,  and  mankind  will  be  blessed  by  your 
having  lived! 

Many,  reflecting  on  the  uncertainty  of  the  future,  will  prefer  to 
see  their  benefactions  distributed  and  applied  while  they  are 
still  living.  Regarding  their  obligations  to  the  public  as  sacred 
debts,  they  will  wish  to  pay  as  they  go.  This  is  commendable; 
perhaps  it  is  safest. 

But  at  some  time  and  somehow  the  example  here  presented 
will  and  must  be  followed.  All  such  deeds  are  the  parents  of 
other  similar  good  deeds.  And  so  the  circle  within  which  the 
blessings  flowing  from  this  fountain  are  enjoyed  will  forever  grow 
wider  and  wider,  and  the  people  of  distant  times  and  places  will 
rejoice  to  drink,  as  we  now  do,  healthful  and  copious  draughts 
in  honor  of  its  founder. 

Here,  this  matchless  structure  will  link  together,  in  perpetual, 
grateful  remembrance,  the  names  of  Tyler  Davidson  and  Henry 


114  LIFE    OP   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

Probasco !     Ever  honored  be  those  names  in  the  city  they  have 
so  greatly  honored ! 

The  message  of  Governor  Hayes,  on  retiring  from 
office  at  the  close  of  his  fourth  year,  calls  attention 
to  the  encroachments  upon  the  rights  and  interests 
of  the  people  by  railway  corporations,  and  discusses 
at  length  the  important  subject  of  securing  economy, 
efficiency,  and  purity  in  the  administration  of  the  local 
governments  of  cities  and  towns.  For  its  able  dis 
cussion  of  these  and  other  subjects,  this  message  of 
1872  commends  itself. 

Fellow-Citizens  of  the  General  Assembly : 

The  finances  of  the  State  government  are  in  a  satisfactory 
condition.  The  balance  in  the  State  treasury  on  the  15th  of  No 
vember,  1870,  was  $766,038.10;  the  receipts  during  the  last  fiscal 
year  were  $5,241,181.91;  making  the  total  amount  of  available 
funds  in  the  treasury  during  the  year  ending  November  15,  1871, 
$6,007,223.01. 

The  disbursements  during  the  year  have  been  $5,259,046.74, 
leaving  a  balance  in  the  treasury,  Nov.  15,  1871,  of  $748,176.27. 

The  estimates  of  the  auditor  of  State  of  receipts  and  expendi 
tures  for  the  current  year,  are  as  follows  : 

Estimated  receipts  from  all  sources,  including  balances, 
$5,206,366.27. 

Estimated  disbursements  for  all  purposes,  $4,776,035.73. 

Leaving  an  estimated  balance  in  the  treasury,  November  15, 
1872,  of  $430,330.54. 

The  public  funded  debt  of  the  State  November  15,  1870,  after 
deducting  the  amount  invested  in  Ohio  stocks,  was  $9,730,144.36. 

During  the  past  year  the  debt  has  been  reduced  $729,415 

Leaving  the  total  debt  yet  to  be  provided  for,  $9,000,729.36. 
Of  this  amount,  the  sum  of  $41,518.3 1  has  ceased  to  bear  interest, 
the  holders  thereof  having  been  notified  of  the  readiness  of  the 
State  to  pay  the  same.  This  leaves  the  total  interest-bearing 
debt  of  the  State,  $8,956,211.05. 

The  taxes  levied  in  1870,  collectible  in  1871,  were  as  follows- 


SECOND  ELECTION  AS  GOVERNOR.         115 


State  taxes $4,666,242  23 

County  and  local  levies 18,797.389  59 

Delinquencies  and  forfeitures  in  former  years 667,188  69 


Total  taxes,  including  delinquencies  col 
lectible  in  1871 $24,130,820  51 

The  taxes  levied  in  1871,  collectible  in  1872,  were  as  follows : 

State  taxes , $4,350,728  28 

County  and  local  levies 18,604,660  12 

Delinquencies  and  forfeitures 632,275  84 

Total  taxes  and  delinquencies  collectible 

in  1872 $23,587,664  24 

It  will  be  noticed,  with  gratification,  that  the  annual  increase 
of  taxation,  to  which  the  people  have  been  long  accustomed,  has 
been  checked,  and  that  the  taxes,  both  State  and  local,  have 
been  somewhat  reduced. 

The  increase  of  local  indebtedness  still  continues.  The  re 
turns  made  to  the  auditor  of  State  are  imperfect,  but  enough  is 
shown  to  warrant  the  opinion  that  during  the  past  year  the  in 
debtedness  of  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  State  has  increased 
not  less  than  one  million  of  dollars,  and  that  their  aggregate  in 
debtedness  now  equals  the  indebtedness  of  the  State.  I  re 
spectfully  repeat,  as  the  remedy  for  this  evil,  the  recommenda 
tion  heretofore  made,  that  all  public  debts  be  prohibited,  except 
in  cases  of  emergency,  analogous  to  those  specified  in  sections 
1  and  2,  article  8,  of  the  constitution. 

The  report  of  the  adjutant-general  shows  that  there  has  been 
collected  by  him  from  the  United  States  during  the  year,  on  ac 
count  of  the  State  war  claims,  the  sum  of  $145,304.60,  making 
the  total  amount  of  war  claims  collected  $2,823,247.94.  It  is 
probable  that  about  $1CO,000  more  can  be  collected  on  these 
claims  without  additional  legislation  by  Congress.  This  will 
leave  about  $400,000  of  claims  unpaid,  which,  it  is  believed,  when 
presented  to  Congress,  with  proper  vouchers  and  explanations, 
will  be  provided  for  by  special  act.  As  long,  however,  as  the 
board  of  military  claims  exists,  these  claims  will  continue  to  in 
crease,  and  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  seek  Congressional 
action  until  the  State,  by  closing  its  accounts  with  individual, 
shall  be  able  to  ask  for  a  final  settlement. 


116  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

It  is  therefore  recommended  that  the  statutes  providing  for 
the  allowance  of  claims  against  the  State  by  the  commissioners 
of  military  claims  be  repealed  ;  the  repeal  to  take  effect  at  such 
date  in  the  future  as  will  afford  opportunity  for  the  presentation 
and  allowance  of  all  just  claims. 

The  report  of  the  commissioner  of  common  schools  shows  that, 
upon  the  whole,  the  educational  interests  of  the  State  continue 
to  be  very  prosperous.  He  presents,  however,  for  your  consid 
eration,  a  number  of  changes  in  the  school  laws,  which  he  deems 
essential  to  further  progress.  The  proposed  reforms  are  treated 
of  in  his  report  under  the  following  heads  :  normal  instruction, 
supervision,  a  codification  of  the  laws,  and  the  township  system. 

The  commanding  position  which  Ohio  has  held  in  the  great 
transactions  of  our  recent  civil  and  military  history  is  largely 
due  to  the  educational  advantages  enjoyed  by  her  people. 
Every  measure  which  tends  to  continue  and  increase  those  ad 
vantages  merits  your  earnest  and  favorable  consideration. 

For  many  years  the  most  eminent  teachers  and  friends  of  ed 
ucation  have  urged  the  necessity  of  establishing  institutions  for 
the  instruction  of  teachers  in  the  principles  and  duties  of  their 
high  and  honorable  calling.  A  few  thousand  dollars  of  the 
school  fund  applied  every  year  to  this  purpose  will,  it  is  believed, 
make  the  expenditures  for  school  purposes  vastly  more  beneficial 
to  the  State. 

There  are  serious  objections  to  the  present  mixed  system  of 
school  management  by  means  of  township  boards  and  subdistrict 
directors.  It  is  believed  that  this  system  ought  to  give  place  to 
the  purely  township  system,  in  which  all  of  the  schools  of  the 
township  are  under  the  exclusive  control  of  a  board  of  educa 
tion  chosen  by  the  electors  of  the  township.  This  plan  is  in 
conformity  with  that  which  has  been  adopted  with  satisfactory 
results  in  most  of  our  towns,  and  is  sustained  by  the  experi 
ence  of  other  States  in  which  the  purely  township  system  has 
been  tried. 

In  several  counties  of  the  State  colored  children  are  practi 
cally  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  attending  public  schools. 
The  denial  of  education  to  any  citizen  of  Ohio  is  so  manifestly 
unjust  that  it  is  confidently  believed  that  the  legislature  needs 
only  to  be  informed  that  such  a  wrong  exists  to  promptly  pro 
vide  a  remedy. 


SECOND  ELECTION  AS  GOVERNOR.        117 

The  official  reports  of  the  penitentiary,  the  Reform  School  for 
Boys,  the  Eeform  School  for  Girls,  and  the  benevolent  institu 
tions  of  the  State,  which  will  be  laid  before  you,  show  that  the 
work  of  these  institutions  has  during  the  past  year  been  well 
done.  They  will,  without  question,  receive  from  you  all  needed 
encouragement  and  support.  It  seems  proper,  however,  to  direct 
your  attention  to  the  urgent  necessity  of  such  legislation  as  will 
empower  the  boards  of  trustees  and  directors  charged  with  the 
erection  of  buildings  for  the  insane  and  for  the  orphans  of  de 
ceased  soldiers,  to  complete  them  as  soon  as  practicable. 

By  the  census  of  1870  the  number  of  insane  persons  in  the 
State  was  3,414.  The  number  of  patients  under  treatment  in 
the  insane  asylums  of  the  State  was,  last  year,  only  1,346.  The 
trustees  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphans'  Home  report  that 
the  number  of  orphans  in  Ohio  needing  care  is  about  eight  hun 
dred,  and  that  the  number  cared  for  is  only  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  These  facts  sufficiently  demonstrate  the  importance 
of  the  suggestion  here  made. 

I  renew  the  recommendation  heretofore  made  that  the  legis 
lature  provide  for  the  erection  of  suitable  monuments  at  the 
graves  of  General  Harrison  and  General  Hamer. 

General  Harrison  has  many  titles  to  the  grateful  remembrance 
of  the  people  of  Ohio.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  West, 
a  soldier  of  honorable  fame  in  two  wars  against  the  savages  and 
in  the  war  of  1812,  a  secretary  and  acting  governor  of  the  North 
west  Territory  before  Ohio  was  organized,  a  law-maker  of  con 
spicuous  usefulness  at  the  State  capital  and  at  Washington,  and 
was  chief  magistrate  of  the  Nation  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
To  honor  him  is  to  honor  all  who  were  eminent  and  useful  in 
the  early  settlement  of  Ohio. 

General  Hamer  served  with  distinction  four  times  in  the  Gen 
eral  Assembly ;  was  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives ; 
was  six  years  a  member  of  Congress  from  the  Brown  county  dis 
trict,  and  died  in  Mexico  in  1846,  a  volunteer  from  Ohio,  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  with  the  rank  of  brigadier-general.  At  the 
time  of  his  death  the  General  Assembly,  with  entire  unanimity, 
"  resolved  that  the  body  of  the  deceased  be  brought  from  Mexico 
and  interred  in  the  soil  of  Ohio,  at  the  expense  of  the  State." 
Having  undertaken,  as  the  duty  of  the  State,  to  give  the  remains 
of  General  Hamer  a  fitting  burial,  the  legislature  can  not  regard 


118  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


that  duty  as  completely  performed  until  an  appropriate  monu 
ment  has  been  built  at  his  grave. 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  present  constitution  the  governor's 
duties  have  compelled  him  to  reside  at  the  capital.  If  any 
change  is  made  in  respect  to  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  ex 
ecutive  in  the  revision  about  to  be  made  of  the  constitution,  the 
change,  it  is  probable,  will  increase  rather  than  diminish  his 
duties.  The  evident  impropriety  of  subjecting  each  new  incum 
bent  of  the  office  to  the  inconvenience  and  expense  of  procuring 
and  furnishing  a  suitable  residence  for  the  short  period  of  a  gov 
ernor's  term  of  office  has  led,  in  many  States,  to  the  purchase 
of  a  governor's  mansion.  Three  of  the  States  adjoining  Ohio 
have  adopted  this  course.  It  can  not  be  doubted  that  Ohio  will, 
at  no  distant  day,  follow  their  example.  The  rapid  increase  in 
the  value  of  real  estate  in  Columbus  in  consequence  of  its  pres 
ent  growth  and  its  promise  of  continued  prosperity  in  the  future 
gives  force  to  the  suggestion  that  if  the  State  is  to  purchase  a 
governor's  residence  at  all  it  would  be  well  to  do  it  promptly. 

The  importance  of  wise  legislation  on  the  subject  of  railroads, 
in  a  State  having  the  geographical  position  which  belongs  to 
Ohio,  can  not  be  over-estimated.  The  greater  part  of  the  trade 
and  travel  between  the  commercial  and  manufacturing  States  of 
the  East  and  the  agricultural  States  of  the  West,  and  of  the 
business  of  the  continental  railways  which  connect  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  oceans,  passes  over  the  railroads  of  this  State.  Four 
teen  years  ago,  Governor  Chase,  speaking  of  the  railroads  of 
Ohio,  said  :  "  This  vast  interest,  affecting  vitally  so  many  other 
interests,  has  grown  suddenly  to  its  present  dimensions  without 
system,  without  general  organization,  and,  in  some  important 
respects,  without  responsibility."  Then  the  railroads  of  the  State 
carried  annually  about  a  million  of  passengers,  and  their  gross 
receipts  were  about  six  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  Last  year 
they  carried  twelve  millions  of  passengers,  and  their  gross  re 
ceipts  exceeded  thirty  million  of  dollars. 

All  of  the  just  powers  of  the  corporations  which  conduct  this 
immense  business  are  derived  from  the  laws  of  the  State.  If 
these  laws  fail  to  guard  adequately  the  rights  and  the  interests 
of  our  citizens,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly  to  supply 
their  defects.  Serious  and  well-grounded  apprehensions  are  felt 
that  in  the  management  of  these  companies,  which  are  largely 


SECOND  ELECTION  AS  GOVERNOR.         119 

controlled  by  non-residents  of  Ohio,  practices,  not  sanctioned  by 
the  law,  nor  by  sound  morality,  have  become  common,  which  are 
prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  great  body  of  the  people,  and 
which,  if  continued,  will  ultimately  destroy  the  prosperity  of  the 
State. 

Eegarding  railroads  as  the  most  useful  instrumentality  by 
which  intercourse  is  carried  on  between  different  sections  of  the 
country,  the  people  do  not  desire  the  adoption  of  a  narrow  or 
unfriendly  policy  toward  them.  Eut  it  should  be  remembered 
that  these  corporations  were  created,  and  their  valuable  fran 
chises  granted  by  the  legislature  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
people  of  the  State.  No  railroad  company  can  sacrifice  those 
interests  without  violating  the  law  of  its  origin.  It  is  not  to  be 
doubted  that  the  authority  of  the  General  Assembly  is  compe 
tent  to  correct  whatever  abuses  have  grown  up  in  the  manage 
ment  of  the  railroads  of  the  State. 

The  late  commissioner  of  railroads  and  telegraphs,  in  his  last 
able  and  valuable  report,  directs  attention  to  a  large  number  of 
what  he  terms  "  clear  and  palpable  violations  of  law  "  by  rail 
road  companies,  which  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 

In  relation  to  the  rates  prescribed  by  law  for  the  transporta 
tion  of  persons  and  property,  he  says:  "  There  is  not  a  railroad 
operated  in  the  State,  either  under  special  charter  or  the  general 
law,  upon  which  the  law  regulating  rates  is  not  in  some  way  vio 
lated  nearly  every  time  a  regular  passenger,  or  freight,  or  mixed 
train  passes  over  it." 

As  to  the  laws  regulating  the  occupation  of  streets  and  alleys 
by  railroad  tracks,  the  speed  of  locomotives  in  towns  and  cities, 
and  railroad  crossings,  he  says  that  statutes  which  he  regards  as 
wholesome  are,  "  it  is  notorious,  wholly  ignored  by  some  compa 
nies,  and  only  partially  obeyed  by  others." 

He  quotes 'the  laws  forbidding  railroad  officials  from  being  in 
terested  in  fast  freight,  express,  or  transportation  companies,  and 
from  dealing  in  railroad  securities,  and  adds,  that  "  the  violation 
of  these  laws  is  believed  to  be  very  common  among  railroad 
officials." 

The  commissioner  also  gives  examples  of  the  "  increase  or 
watering  of  stock "  by  railroad  companies,  and  remarks,  "  the 
foregoing  .statements  are  the  more  striking  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  stockholders  in  the  company  have  been  in  receipt  of 


120  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD  B.    HAYES. 


regular  semi-annual  dividends  for  seven  years  of  from  six  to  ten 
per  cent,  per  annum." 

The  significance  of  this  remark  of  the  commissioner  lies  in 
the  fact  that  the  rates  which  railroad  companies  may  charge  for 
the  transportation  of  passengers  and  freight  may  be  prescribed 
by  the  General  Assembly,  whenever  the  net  profits  amount  to 
ten  per  cent,  on  the  capital  actually  invested. 

The  interests  involved  are  of  such  magnitude  that  all  legisla 
tion  ought  to  be  based  on  the  fullest  and  most  accurate  informa 
tion  which  a  careful  investigation  can  furnish.  I,  therefore,  rec 
ommend  that  a  commission  of  five  citizens,  of  whom  the  railroad 
commissioner  shall  be  one,  be  organized,  with  ample  powers  to 
investigate  the  management  of  the  railroad  companies  of  the 
State,  their  legal  rights,  and  the  rights  of  the  State  and  its  citi 
zens,  and  to  report  the  information  acquired,  with  a  recommen 
dation  of  such  measures  as  the  commission  shall  deem  ex 
pedient. 

During  the  past  year,  the  traveling  public  has  enjoyed,  in  Ohio, 
remarkable  immunity  from  railroad  accidents.  According  to  the 
reports  of  the  railroad  companies  to  the  commissioner,  not  a 
single  passenger  has  lost  his  life  by  the  fault  of  the  railroads  in 
the  State  during  the  year.  But  the  number  of  persons,  "  other 
than  passengers,"  and  of  "  employes  "  who  have  lost  their  lives, 
is  quite  large.  One  hundred  and  fifty-seven  persons  are  reported 
to  have  been  killed,  and  it  is  without  doubt  that  many  deaths 
have  occurred  which  have  not  been  reported.  Many  of  these 
fatal  accidents  happened  in  the  streets  of  towns  and  cities,  and 
at  street  and  road  crossings.  It  is  perfectly  practicable  to  pro 
tect  citizens  from  these  dangers,  by  enforcing  proper  regulations 
as  to  the  speed  of  trains,  and  as  to  the  occupancy  and  crossing 
of  streets  and  roads.  Your  special  attention  is  called  to  this 
subject. 

One  of  the  most  difficult  and  interesting  practical  problems 
which  now  engages  the  thoughts  of  the  American  people  is  how 
to  maintain  economy,  efficiency,  and  purity  in  the  administra 
tion  of  local  affairs,  and  especially  in  the  government  of  towns 
and  cities,  without  a  departure  from  principles  and  methods 
which  are  deemed  essential  to  free  popular  government.  Many 
of  the  most  important  functions  of  government  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  local  authorities.  They  are  directly  charged  with  the 


SECOND   ELECTION   AS   GOVERNOR.  121 

expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money,  with  the  protection  of  life 
and  property,  and  with  the  administration  of  civU  and  criminal 
justice.  These  duties,  in  one  way  or  another,  touch  nearly  and 
constantly  the  interests  and  feelings  of  every  citizen.  Upon 
their  faithful  performance  depends  the  prosperity,  happiness, 
and  safety  of  the  community.  It  is  true  that  as  yet  Ohio  is  hap 
pily,  in  a  great  measure,  free  from  the  operation  of  causes  which 
in  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  country  recently  led  to 
such  extraordinary  corruption  in  the  government  of  that  city. 
But  those  causes  do  not  belong  alone  to  the  great  cities  of  the 
East.  They  are  already  at  work  in  our  midst,  and  they  are 
steadily  and  rapidly  increasing  in  power.  No  political  party  is 
altogether  free  from  their  influence,  and  no  political  party  is 
solely  responsible  for  them.  We  have  laws  prohibiting  almost 
every  conceivable  official  neglect  and  abuse,  and  penalties  are 
affixed  to  the  violation  of  those  laws  which  can  not  be  regarded 
as  inadequate.  The  difficulty  is  to  secure  their  enforcement. 
Those  whose  duty  it  is  to  detect  and  prosecute  are  often  inter 
ested  in  maintaining  good  relations  with  the  wrong-doers.  The 
contractors  for  public  work  and  supplies  not  unfrequently  have 
a  community  of  interest  with  those  who  are  the  agents  of  the 
public  to  let  and  superintend  the  performance  of  contracts. 
Where  these  abuses  exist  there  is  apt  to  be  a  large  circle  of  ap 
parently  disinterested  citizens,  who  labor  to  conceal  the  facts 
and  to  suppress  investigation.  What  the  public  welfare  de 
mands  is  a  practical  measure  which  will  provide  for  a  thorough 
and  impartial  investigation  in  every  case  of  suspected  neglect, 
abuse,  or  fraud.  Such  an  investigation,  to  be  effective,  must  be 
made  by  an  authority  independent,  if  possible,  of  all  local  in 
fluences.  When  abuses  are  discovered,  the  prosecution  and  pun- 
ishment.of  offenders  ought  to  follow.  But  even  if  prosecutions 
fail  in  cases  of  full  exposure,  public  opinion  almost  always  ac 
complishes  the  object  desired.  A  thorough  investigation  of 
official  corruption  and  criminality  leads  with  great  certainty  to 
the  needed  reform.  Publicity  is  a  great  corrector  of  official 
abuses.  Let  it  therefore  be  made  the  duty  of  the  governor,  on 
satisfactory  information  that  the  public  good  requires  an  inves 
tigation  of  the  affairs  of  any  public  office  or  the  conduct  of  any 
public  officer,  whether  State  or  local,  to  appoint  one  or  more  cit 
izens  who  shall  have  ample  powers  to  make  such  investigation. 


122  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

If  by  the  investigation  violations  of  law  are  discovered,  the  gov 
ernor  should  be  authorized,  in  his  discretion,  to  notify  the  attor 
ney-general,  whose  duty  it  should  be,  on  such  notice,  to  prosecute 
the  offenders.  The  constitution  makes  it  the  duty  of  the  gov 
ernor  to  "  see  that  the  laws  are  faithfully  executed."  Some  such 
measure  as  the  one  here  recommended  is  necessary  to  give  force 
and  effect  to  this  constitutional  provision. 

In  compliance  with  the  constitution,  the  last  General  Assem 
bly  submitted  to  the  people  the  question  of  holding  a  convention 
"to  revise,  alter,  or  amend"  the  constitution,  and  at  the  October 
election  a  large  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  State  decided  in 
favor  of  a  convention.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  General  Assembly, 
at  its  present  session,  to  provide  by  law  for  the  election  of  dele 
gates  and  the  assembling  of  the  convention. 

The  vote  on  the  question  of  calling  the  convention  which 
formed  the  present  constitution  was  taken  at  the  October  elec 
tion,  1849.  At  the  next  session  of  the  General  Assembly  an  act 
was  passed  which  provided  for  the  election  of  delegates  to  the 
convention  the  first  Monday  of  April,  1850,  and  the  convention 
was  convened  on  the  first  Monday  of  May  following. 

In  conclusion,  I  wish  to  make  my  grateful  acknowledgments 
to  the  people  of  Ohio  for  the  honorable .  trusts  they  have  con 
fided  to  me,  and  to  express  the  hope  that  the  harmony,  prosper 
ity,  and  happiness  which  they  now  enjoy  in  such  full  measure 
may,  under  Providence,  be  perpetual. 

Hayes,  during  his  two  terms  as  Governor,  proposed 
and  carried  through  the  following  measures  of  the 
first  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  State : 

He  recommended  and  had  completed  a  comprehen 
sive  Geological  Survey  of  Ohio. 

He  secured  the  establishment  of  a  Soldiers'  Or 
phans'  Home. 

He  had  the  powers  of  the  Board  of  State  Charities 
restored  and  enlarged. 

He  had  provision  made  for  the  care,  by  the  State, 

of  the  chronic  insane. 


SECONd   ELECTION  AS  GOVERNOR.  123 

Under  his  direction  the  graded  system  was  adopted 
in  the  State  Prison  and  prison  reforms  introduced. 

Minority  representation  on  Election  Boards  was 
secured. 

The  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College  was 
founded,  trustees  appointed,  and  the  institution  or 
ganized. 

Portraits  of  the  Governors  of  Ohio  were  placed  in 
the  State  collection. 

The  suffrage  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  was  adopted. 

The  fifteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  was  ratified. 

The  Lincoln  Memorial,  an  admirable  work  of  art, 
was  placed  in  the  capitol. 

The  right  of  soldiers  in  the  National  Asylum  to 
vote  was  restored. 

The  students'  privilege  of  voting  while  attending 
college  was  given  back. 

The  odious  "  visible  admixture  "  law  was  repealed. 

The  St.  Clair  papers  were  purchased,  and  letters 
and  manuscripts  relating  to  pioneer  history  collected. 

A  Reform  School  for  Girls  was  established  and  made 
successful. 

The  State  debt  was  reduced,  and  all  increase  of 
debt  opposed. 

Can  any  Governor  of  any  State  say  that  he  has 
done  a  better  business  ? 


124  LIFE    OP   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THIRD    TIME    ELECTED    GOVERNOR. 

The  Senatorship  declined — Army  Banquet  Speech — Ihird 
Time  nominated  for  Congress — Glendale  Speech — De 
clines  a  Federal  Office — Making  a  Home — Nomination 
for  Governor — Platform. — Serenade  Speech  —  Demo 
cratic  Convention  and  Platform — Marion  Speech  of 
Hayes  —  Woodford  —  Grosvenor —  Schurz  —  Inflation 
Drivel — Interest  in  the  Contest — Honest  Money  Tri- 
u mphant —  Third  Inaug ural. 

JUST  as  Governor  Hayes  was  vacating  the  office  of 
chief  executive  of  Ohio,  to  which  he  had  positively 
refused  to  be  re-elected,  he  was  offered  and  declined 
the  Senatorship  from  that  State.  The  proofs  of  this 
fact  are  before  us.  The  circumstances  were  these: 
A  Senator  in  Congress  was  to  be  elected  by  the  State 
Legislature,  in  January,  1872,  to  succeed  John  Sher 
man.  Mr.  Sherman  had  secured  the  nomination  and 
election  of  a  majority  of  Republicans  who  were  favor 
able  to  his  own  re-election  ;  but  the  Republican  major 
ity  on  joint  ballot  was  small.  Before  the  meeting  of 
the  Republican  caucus,  a  sufficient  number  of  mem 
bers  to  control  the  result,  with  the  aid  of  the  Demo 
crats,  proposed  to  Governor  Hayes  to  sta}T  out  of  the 
caucus,  and,  uniting  the  entire  opposition  to  Sherman, 
secure  his  defeat. 

Hayes  had  authoritative  assurances  that  the  Demo 
cratic  members  would  support  him,  with  a  view  of 
defeating  Sherman;  while  the  Independent  or  auti- 


THIRD    TIME   ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  125 

Sherman  Republicans,  who  held  the  balance  of  power, 
were  importunate  that  he  should  allow  himself  to  be 
their  compromise  candidate.  But  he  firmly  rejected 
all  these  overtures,  and  forbid  the  use  of  his  name  in 
connection  with  the  matter  in  any  manner  whatever. 
A  leading  State  Senator  declared  it  "  was  most  extra 
ordinary  to  see  the  Senatorship  refused,  with  the 
Presidency  in  prospect." 

On  the  7th  of  April,  General  Hayes  delivered  a 
speech  in  Cincinnati  in  response  to  the  toast.  "  Our 
Country,"  which  contains  thoughts  worthy  of  repro 
duction.  It  was  upon  the  occasion  of  the  fifth  annual 
banquet  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee.  After  some 
general  introductory  remarks,  the  orator  said : 

"Consider  the  history  of  our  country.  It  is  the  youngest  of  the 
nations.  We  are  just  beginning  to  look  forward  to  the  celebra 
tion,  five  years  hence,  of  the  completion  of  the  first  century  of 
its  existence.  This  brief  period,  so  crowded  with  interesting 
events,  with  great  achievements  in  peace  and  war,  and  adorned 
with  illustrious  names  in  every  honorable  walk  of  life,  has  wit 
nessed  a  progress  in  our  country  without  a  parallel  in  the  annals 
of  the  race. 

"Add  to  these  considerations  the  visions  of  greatness  and 
prosperity  which  the  future  opens  to  America,  and  we  shall  be 
gin  to  see  by  what  titles  our  country  claims  from  all  of  her  chil 
dren  admiration,  gratitude,  and  loyal  love. 

"Those  who  are  accustomed  to  take  gloomy  views  of  every  event 
and  every  prospect,  will  perhaps  remind  us  that  all  the  parts  of 
this  picture  have  their  dark  side ;  that  this  extended  and  mag 
nificent  territory  of  ours  must  needs  have  rival  interests  hostile 
and  dangerous  to  unity ;  that  people  differing  in  race,  nation 
ality,  religion,  language,  and  traditions  will,  with  difficulty,  be 
fused  into  one  harmonious  Nation ;  that  written  constitutions  do 
not  make  a  government  unless  their  provisions  are  obeyed  or  en 
forced.  As  to  our  boasted  history,  they  will  point  to  pages  dark 
ened  with  grave  crimes  against  the  weaker  races;  and  as  to  our 


126  LIFE   OP  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

future,  they  will  tell  us  of  the  colossal  fortunes  which,  under  the 
sanction  of  law,  are  already  consolidating  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
men — not  always  the  best  men — powers  which  threaten  alike 
good  government  and  our  liberties. 

"  In  reply  to  these  views,  it  can  not  be  denied  that  in  a  wide 
domain  like  ours,  inhabited  by  people  not  always  harmonious, 
something  more  than  written  constitutions  are  required.  A 
mere  paper  government  is  not  enough.  The  law,  if  not  volun 
tarily  obeyed,  must  be  firmly  enforced.  To  accomplish  this 
there  must  be  wisdom,  moderation,  firmness,  not  only  in  those 
who  administer  the  government,  but  in  the  people,  who,  at  last, 
are  the  government. 

"The  great  task  is  to  educate  a  whole  people  in  these  high 
virtues,  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  equal  to  their  opportunities 
and  to  the  dangers  that  surround  them.  The  chief  instrumen 
talities  in  this  education  are  the  home,  the  school,  the  platform, 
the  pulpit,  and  the  press,  and  all  good  men  and  women  are  the 
educators. 

"  Doubt  and  difficulty  and  danger  lend  to  every  human  enter 
prise  its  chief  interest  and  charm.  Every  man  who  fought  in 
the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  at  Shiloh  knows  that  the  gloom  and 
despondency  in  which  the  first  day's  battle  closed,  gaveari  added 
glory  to  the  victory  of  the  second  day ;  that  the  victory  is  al 
ways  most  highly  prized  which,  after  a  long  and  desperate  strug 
gle,  is  snatched  at  last  from  the  very  jaws  of  disaster  and  defeat. 

"  If,  in  the  future  of  our  country,  trials  and  conflicts  and  ca 
lamities  await  her,  it  is  but  the  common  allotment  of  Provi 
dence  to  men.  The  brave  and  the  good  will  (here  always)  find 
noble  work  and  a  worthy  career,  and  will  rejoice  that  they  are 
permitted  to  live  and  to  act  in  such  a  country  as  the  American 
republic." 

In  July,  1872,  Ex-Governor  Hayes  received  a  peti 
tion,  signed  by  the  most  influential  men  in  the  second 
Congressional  district  in  Cincinnati,  asking  him  to 
accept  a  nomination  for  Congress.  Scores  of  letters 
and  telegrams  were  sent  to  him  at  Fremont,  where  he 
was  detained  by  illness  in  his  family,  urging  upon  him 


THIRD   TIME    ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  127 

the  duty  of  sacrificing  personal  to  public  interests  and 
consent  to  become  a  candidate.  He  refused  abso 
lutely.  The  nominating  convention  met  August  6th, 
and  the  following  telegram  tells  the  story  : 

"  In  spite  of  your  protests,  you  were  nominated  on  first  ballot. 
Great  enthusiasm,  and  whole  party  lifted  up.  We  assured  Re 
publicans  that  Governor  Hayes  never  retreated  when  ordered 
to  advance.  Things  are  looking  bright. 

"  RICHARD  SMITH." 

Two  days  after,  a  petition  was  forwarded,  signed 
by  two  hundred  influential  Republican  and  non-parti 
san  voters  of  the  second  district,  containing  the  words, 
we  "  most  urgently  solicit- you  to  accept  the  nomina 
tion  given  you." 

His  acceptance  being  demanded  on  the  ground  of 
duty,  he  returned  to  Cincinnati  and  made  the  canvass. 
At  Glendale,  on  September  4,  he  delivered  a  lengthy 
speech,  from  which  we  take  these  extracts  : 

Fellow-citizens  : 

My  purpose  in  addressing  you  this  evening  is  to  spread  before 
the  people  of  the  second  district  my  views  on  the  questions  of 
National  policy  which  now  engage  the  public  attention. 

In  the  present  condition  of  the  country,  two  things  are  of  vital 
importance — peace  and  a  sound  financial  policy.  We  want 
peace — honorable  peace — with  all  nations ;  peace  with  the  In 
dians,  and  peace  between  all  of  the  citizens  of  all  of  the  States. 
We  want  a  financial  policy  so  honest  that  there  can  be  no  stain 
on  the  National  honor  and  no  taint  on  the  National  credit ;  so 
stable  that  labor  and  capital  and  legitimate  business  of  every 
sort  can  confidently  count  upon  what  it  will  be  the  next  week, 
the  next  month,  and  the  next  year.  We  want  the  burdens  of 
taxation  so  justly  distributed  that  they  will  bear  equally  upon 
all  classes  of  citizens  in  proportion  to  their  ability  to  sustain 
them. 


128  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


We  want  our  currency  gradually  to  appreciate,  until,  without 
financial  shock  or  any  sudden  shrinkage  of  values,  but  in  the 
natural  course  of  trade,  it  shall  reach  the  uniform  and  permanent 
value  of  gold.  With  lasting  peace  assured,  and  a  sound  finan 
cial  condition  established,  the  United  States  and  all  of  her  citi 
zens  may  reasonably  expect  to  enjoy  a  measure  of  prosperity 
without  a  parallel  in  the  world's  history. 

When  the  debates  of  the  last  presidential  election  were  in 
progress,  four  years  ago,  there  were  troubles  with  other  nations 
threatening  the  public  peace,  and,  in  particular,  there  was  a  most 
difficult,  irritating,  and  dangerous  controversy  with  Great  Brit 
ain,  which  it  seemed  almost  impossible  peaceably  to  settle.  Now 
we  are  at  peace  with  all  nations;  the  American  government  is 
everywhere  abroad  held  in  the  highest  honor ;  and  an  example 
of  submitting  National  disputes  to  the  decision  of  a  court  of  ar 
bitration  has  been  set,  which  is  of  incalculable  value  to  the 
world. 

Four  years  ago,  and  for  a  considerable  period  since,  the  public 
peace  has  been  broken  or  threatened  in  a  majority  of  the  late 
slave  States,  by  bands  of  lawless  men,  oath  bound,  disguised,  and 
armed,  who,  by  terror,  by  scourging,  and  by  assassination, under 
took  to  deprive  unoffending  citizens,  both  white  and  colored,  of 
their  most  cherished  rights,  for  no  reason  except  a  difference  of 
political  sentiment.  Now  these  organizations  have,  it  is  claimed 
by  their  political  associates,  disbanded.  Large  numbers  of  citi 
zens  in  those  States,  heretofore  hostile  to  the  recent  amendments 
to  the  constitution,  and  to  the  equal  rights  of  colored  people, 
declare  themselves  satisfied  with  those  amendments,  and  ready 
to  maintain  the  constitutional  rights  of  colored  citizens.  Not 
withstanding  the  predictions  of  our  adversaries,  that  to  confer 
political  rights  upon  colored  people  would  lead  to  a  war  of  races, 
white  people  and  colored  people  are  now  voting  side  by  side  in 
all  of  the  old  slave  States,  and  their  elections  are  quite  as  free 
from  violence  and  disorder  as  they  were  when  whites  alone  were 
the  voters.  In  a  word,  peace  prevails  in  the  South  to  an  extent 
which,  under  the  circumstances,  the  ablest  statesmen  among  our 
adversaries  three  years  ago  pronounced  impossible.  The  watch 
word  of  the  Republican  party  four  years  ago  was  "  Let  us  have 
peace."  A  survey  of  every  field  where  the  public  peace  was  then 


THIRD   TIME   ELECTED   GOVERNOR.  129 

imperiled,  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  nations,  with  the  Indians, 
and  in  the  South,  shows  that  the  pledge  implied  in  that  famous 
watchword  has  been  substantially  made  good,  and  that,  if  the 
people  continue  to  stand  by  the  government,  the  peace  we  now 
enjoy  will  be  continued  and  enduring. 

CIVIL    SERVICE    REFORM. 

There  are  several  questions  relating  to  the  present  and  the 
future  which  merit  the  attention  of  the  people.  Among  the 
most  interesting  of  these  is  the  question  of  civil  service  reform. 

About  forty  years  ago  a  system  of  making  appointments  to 
office  grew  up,  based  on  the  maxim,  "to  the  victors  belong  the 
spoils."  The  old  rule — the  true  rule — that  honesty,  capacity, 
and  fidelity  constitute  the  highest  claim  to  office,  gave  place  to 
the  idea  that  partisan  services  were  to  be  chiefly  considered. 
All  parties  in  practice  have  adopted  this  system.  Since  its  first 
introduction  it  has  been  materially  modified.  At  first,  the 
president,  either  directly  or  through  the  heads  of  depart 
ments,  made  all  appointments.  Gradually,  by  usage,  the  ap 
pointing  power  in  many  cases  was  transferred  to  members  of 
Congress — to  senators  and  representatives.  The  offices  in  these 
cases  have  become  not  so  much  rewards  for  party  services  as  re 
wards  for  personal  services  in  nominating  and  electing  senators 
and  representatives.  What  patronage  the  president  and  his  cab 
inet  retain,  and  what  offices  congressmen  are  by  usage  entitled 
to  fill  is  not  definitely  settled.  A  congressman  who  maintains 
good  relations  with  the  executive  usually  receives  a  larger  share 
of  patronage  than  one  who  is  independent.  The  system  is  a 
bad  one.  It  destroys  the  independence  of  the  separate  depart 
ments  of  the  government,  and  it  degrades  the  civil  service.  It 
ought  to  be  abolished.  General  Grant  has  again  and  again  ex 
plicitly  recommended  reform.  A  majority  of  Congress  has  been 
unable  to  agree  upon  any  important  measure.  Doubtless  the 
bills  which  have  been  introduced  contain  objectionable  features. 
But  the  work  should  be  begun.  Let  the  best  obtainable  bill  be 
passed,  and  experience  will  show  what  amendments  are  required. 
I  would  support  either  Senator  Trumbull's  bill  or  Mr.  Jenckes' 
bill,  if  nothing  better  were  proposed.  The  admirable  speeches 
on  this  subject  by  the  representative  of  the  first  district,  the  Hon. 


130  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

Aaron  F.  Perry,  contain  the  best  exposition  I  have  seen  of  sound 
doctrine  on  this  question,  and  I  trust  the  day  is  not  distant  when 
the  principles  Vhich  he  advocates  will  be  embodied  in  practical 
measures  of  legislation.  We  ought  to  have  a  reform  of  the  sys 
tem  of  appointments  to  the  civil  service,  thorough,  radical,  and 
complete. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  will  be  agreeably 
surprised  to  learn  that,  four  years  ago,  not  only  the 
sentiments,  but  almost  the  identical  language  of  the 
recent  letter  of  acceptance  upon  the  subject  of  this 
great  reform  was  publicly  proclaimed  by  the  Repub 
lican  candidate  for  the  presidency. 

In  1872,  when  the  Presidency  was  not  in  his  thoughts, 
he  advocated  with  great  force  the  doctrines  which  Inde 
pendent  Republicans  especially  commend  him  for 
maintaining  to-day.  These  opinions  it  would  then  be 
foolishly  needless  to  say  are  honest ;  they  are  deep- 
rooted  convictions  of  long  growth. 

The  elections  went  heavily  against  the  Republicans 
in  Hamilton  county,  in  1872.  Mr.  Eggleston,  the 
sitting  member  .of  Congress  from  the  First  District, 
was  beaten  three  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
votes;  and  General  Hayes  was  defeated  by  General 
H.  B.  Banning,  whose  majority  was  one  thousand 
five  hundred  and  two.  Compared  with  the  result  in 
the  First  District,  Hayes  ran  a  thousand  votes  ahead 
of  his  ticket.  He  had  performed  his  duty  and  was 
satisfied. 

A  few  months  later  he  was  offered,  by  the  Presi 
dent,  the  oifice  of  Assistant  Treasurer  of  the  United 
States,  at  Cincinnati,  which  appointment  he  respect 
fully  declined. 

The  years  1873  and  1874  were  employed  by  General 


THIRD    TIME    ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  131 

Hayes  in  making  and  adorning  a  future  home  for 
himself  and  his  family,  near  Fremont.  He  planted 
over  a  thousand  trees,  and  filled  his  grounds  with 
vines,  shrubs,  and  flowers. 

In  January,  1874,  his  patron  uncle  and  life-long 
friend  Sardis  Birchard  died,  leaving  his  favorite 
nephew  heir  to  a  considerable  estate.  It  elevates 
our  estimate  of  human  nature  to  find  that  this  heir- 
apparent,  or  rather  heir  inevitable  to  a  handsome 
fortune,  diminished  the  amount  he  would  naturally 
inherit  by  persuading  his  uncle  to  make  bequests, 
amounting  to  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  to  the 
citizens  of  Fremont  for  a  Public  Park  and  a  Free 
Public  Library.  It  is  not  necessary  to  add,  that  this 
unselfish  course  of  action  makes  known  character, 
nor  to  say  what  kind  of  a  character  it  makes  known. 

The  Republican  State  Convention,  which  assem 
bled  at  Columbus,  June  2,  1875.  nominated  General 
Hayes  a  third  time  for  the  office  of  Governor.  He 
received  the  news  of  the  nomination  while  playing 
base  ball  with  his  children  at  their  home  in  Fremont. 
The  circumstances  of  this  nomination  were  extra 
ordinary,  and  the  honor  it  implied  exceptional.  The 
facts,  in  brief,  were  these :  The  Hon.  William  Allen 
having  been  put  in  nomination  by  the  Democrats, 
for  the  office  of  Governor,  in  1873,  mainly  through 
the  influence  of  his  nephew,  Senator  Thurman,  was 
elected  by  a  small  majority  in  October  of  that  year. 
Mr.  Allen,  as  Governor,  made  himself  active  in  the 
direction  of  economy  and  the  reduction  of  taxation, 
and  seemed  to  increase  his  popularity  because  of  the 
high  reputation  he  enjoyed  for  personal  integrity. 
Early  in  1875  it  became  apparent  that  he  would 


132  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

secure,  without  opposition,  a  renomi nation.  It  be 
came  equally  apparent,  also,  that  the  Republicans 
would  encounter  no  slight  difficulty  in  defeating  him. 
He  was  in  possession,  he  had  the  prestige  of  victory, 
and  was  immensely  popular  with  his  party.  It  was 
the  plainest  dictate  of  policy  and  duty  for  the  Repub 
licans  to  proceed  with  extremest  caution  and  put  in 
nomination  their  very  strongest  man.  Personal  am 
bitions  and  interests  must  be  put  aside  in  every  great 
emergency,  when  the  success  of  a  cause  is  at  stake. 
What  every  great  emergency  needs  is  a  MAN.  The 
eyes  of  the  Republicans  of  Ohio  were  at  the  same 
period  of  time  turned  toward  Hayes  as  that  leader — 
that  man.  He  was  written  to,  from  every  portion  of 
the  State,  to  consent  to  become  again  a  candidate. 
His  uniform  reply  was,  that  he  had  retired  finally  and 
absolutely  from  public  life,  and  that  his  tastes  and 
interests  would  keep  him  at  home.  Some,  receiving 
these  responses  in  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  given, 
looked  around  for  other  candidates.  In  Cincinnati 
there  was  a  strong  local  influence  favoring  Judge 
Taft,  the  able  and  most  estimable  gentleman  who 
is  now  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States.  Gov 
ernor  Hayes  repeatedly  announced  that  he  would, 
under  no  circumstances,  be  a  candidate  against  his 
friend,  Judge  Taft,  and  urged  the  delegates  from  his 
county  to  support  Taft,  which  they  did.  Notwith 
standing  these  facts,  when  the  Convention  met,  the 
delegates,  according  to  the  public  statement  of  Gen 
eral  Grosvenor,  were  four  to  one  in  favor  of  Hayes' 
nomination.  On  the  first  ballot,  two  hundred  and 
seventy-four  being  necessary  to  a  choice,  Hayes 
received  four  votes  less  than  four  hundred,  and  Taft 


THIRD    TIME    ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  133 

one  hundred  fifty-one.     The  nomination  was   made 
unanimous  on  motion  of  Judge  Taft's  son. 

Finding  himself  once  more  an  involuntary  candidate 
for  office,  Governor  Hayes  lost  no  time  in  getting 
ready  for  the  supreme  struggle,  thus  far,  of  his  life. 
Visiting,  three  weeks  later,  the  home  of  his  relative, 
General  Mitchell,  in  Columbus,  he  was  serenaded  by 
the  Hayes  Club  of  the  capital  city,  and,  in  response  to 
their  calls,  foreshadowed  the  great  issues  of  the  ap 
proaching  campaign.  Without  circumlocution,  he 
said : 

"If  it  shall  turn  out  that  the  party  in  power  are  opposed  to  a 
sound,  safe,  stable  currency,  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  October  the 
people  will  make  a  change.  If  it  shall  turn  out  that  the  party 
in  power  were  guilty  of  gross  corruption  in  the  legislative  de 
partment,  and  that  when  that  corruption  was  exposed  the  ma 
jority  shielded  those  who  were  implicated,  I  have  no  doubt  the 
people  will  make  a  change.  If  it  shall  turn  out  that  the  party 
in  power  yielded  to  the  dictation  of  an  ecclesiastical  sect,  and 
through  fear  of  a  threatened  loss  of  votes  and  power  has  suffered 
itself  to  be  domineered  over  in  its  exercise  of  the  law-making 
power,  there  ought  to  be,  as  I  doubt  not  there  will  be,  a  great 
change.  If  it  shall  turn  out  that  the  party  in  power  is  danger 
ously  allied  to  any  body  of  men  who  are  opposed  to  our  free 
schools,  and  have  proclaimed  undying  hostility  to  our  educa 
tional  system,  then  I  doubt  not  the  people  will  make  a  change  in 
the  administration." 

The  convention  which  nominated  Hayes  had  adopted 
some  sensible  resolutions.  It  declared,  first,  that 

"  The  United  States  are  one  as  a  Nation,  and  all  citizens  are 
equal  under  the  laws,  and  entitled  to  their  fullest  protection. 

"  Third.  We  are  in  favor  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  with  inci 
dental  protection  to  American  industry. 

"Fourth.  We  stand  by  free  education,  our  public  school  system, 


134  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

the  taxation  of  all  for  its  support,  and  no  division  of  the  school 
fund. 

"Eleventh.  The  observance  of  Washington's  example  in  retir 
ing  at  the  close  of  a  second  presidential  term  will  be  in  the 
future,  as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  regarded  as  a  fundamental  rule 
in  the  unwritten  law  of  the  Republic." 

The  Democratic  State  Convention  met  on  the  17th 
of  June,  and  was  presided  over  by  Judge  Rnfus  P. 
Kanney.  It  renominated  Governor  Allen  by  accla 
mation  and  a  rising  vote  amidst  great  cheering. 

The  governor  delivered  an  intemperate  speech  upon 
the  occasion,  in  which  his  denunciation  was  about 
equally  divided  between  the  old  alien  and  sedition 
laws  and  Grant's  administration.  Samuel  F.  Cary, 
nominated  for  lieutenant-governor,  made  a  loud 
speech.  Pendleton,  Ewing,  Thurman,  Allen,  and 
Cary  spoke  at  the  ratification  meeting  in  the  evening. 

The  platform  contained  the  sound  proposition  that 
the  president's  services  should  be  limited  to  one  term, 
thereby  endorsing  a  material  part  of  Governor  Hayes' 
letter  of  acceptance  in  advance.  It  also  contained 
what  some  have  called  the  rascally,  others  the  asinine 
propositions  that  the  volume  of  currency  should  be 
made  and  kept  equal  to  the  wants  of  trade ;  that  all 
National  Bank  circulation  should  be  promptly  and 
permanently  retired,  and  legal  tenders  be  issued  in  their 
stead,  and  that  the  payment  of  at  least  one-half  of  the 
customs  should  be  in  legal  tenders. 

Senator  Thurman,  much  to  the  surprise  of  his  east 
ern  friends,  acquiesced  in,  or  at  least  failed  to  de 
nounce  this  inflation  platform.  He  forgot  the  pro 
verb  that  it  is  the  bold  man  who  wins.  Had  he  made 
a  ringing,  thirty-minutes,  hard-money  speech  on  the 


THIRD   TIME    ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  135 

occasion,  no  power  on  the  continent  could  probably 
have  kept  him  out  of  the  White  House.  This  was  the 
day  of  his  destiny,  but  the  day  of  his  destiny  is  over. 
The  public  and  non-partisan  estimate  of  this  Demo 
cratic  platform  is  fairly  reflected  in  the  editorial  ut 
terances  of  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  of  June  18th, 
to  the  effect  that : 

"  This  platform  is  a  declaration  of  war  upon  the  National 
credit.  The  'programme  of  repudiation  is  made  particularly 
clear.  .  .  .  The  contest  in  Ohio  this  summer  in  an  extraor 
dinary  degree  concerns  the  Nation." 

The  Chicago  Times  said  : 

•"If  Allen  be  elected,  the  immediate  effect  is  very  sure  to  be 
a  prodigious  rise  in  the  threatening  and  dangerous  tidal  wave  of 
inflation  and  repudiation.  The  political  tradition  which  goes 
by  the  name  of  the  Democratic  party,  will  be  forthwith  pervaded 
in  every  part  by  an  active  and  aggressive  repudiation  senti 
ment." 

The  inflation  Democracy  were  not  only  hopeful  but 
boastful.  Governor  Allen  made  and  repeated  the 
prediction  that  he  would  be  re-elected  by  from  60,000 
to  70,000  majority.  He  said  that  he  would  not  com 
promise  with  Hayes  on  20,000.  It  was  represented 
that  the  hard  times  were  caused  by  the  Republicans, 
and  that  the  people  wanted  "more  money,"  which 
interpreted  meant  more  debts  or  due  bills.  Much  was 
said  on  the  stump  about  what  "  the  people  think," 
forgetting  that  the  material  question  is  not  what  they 
think,  but  what  they  ought  to  think. 

Governor  Hayes  was  not  unmindful  of  the  national 
and  international  importance  of  the  contest.  Know 
ing  that  the  Democrats  had  carried  the  State  the  year 


136  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

before  by  a  majority  of  17,000  on  their  State  ticket 
and  24,000  on  their  Congressional  ticket,  he  did  not 
underrate  the  difficulties  to  be  contended  with  in  the 
struggle.  Several  Republican  members  of  Congress 
had  taken  the  inflation  shute,  and  were  continually 
writing  him  not  to  be  too  decided  ;  that  a  little  more 
currency  would  be  a  good  thing.  But  he  buckled  on 
his  hard-money  armor,  and  going  into  the  contest 
early,  delivered  at  Marion-,  Lawrence  county,  the 
sound  and  solid  speech  which  closes  this  volume. 
Thus,  in  the  midst  of  the  miners  and  furnace  men 
who  were  suffering  most  from  hard  times  and  clamor 
ing  most  loudly  for  more  money,  Hayes  boldly  pro 
claimed  his  sound  currency  creed,  and  opposed  infla 
tion  to  the  extent  of  a  dollar. 

Strong  men  came  from  other  States  to  aid  him  in 
this  battle  against  odds.  The  strongest  in  this  kind 
of  battle  were  Stewart  L.  "Woodford,  of  "New  York, 
and  Schurz  and  Grosvenor,  of  Missouri.  General 
Woodford,  in  the  dozen  debates  he  conducted  with 
General  Ewing,  the  ablest  of  the  inflationists,  devel 
oped  debating  abilities  of  the  first  order,  and  exhibi 
ted  a  complete  mastery  of  the  science  of  finance. 

Colonel  Wm.  M.  Grosvenor  showed  the  same  pow 
ers  on  the  stump  he  had  shown  as  a  writer,  and  pre 
sented  arguments  which  will  probably  remain  unan 
swered  for  some  centuries  to  come. 

Carl  Schurz  appeared  late  in  the  field,  upon  the  call 
of  two  hundred  merchants  of  Cincinnati,  who  assured 
him  that  the  cause  of  "  National  honor  and  common 
honesty"  was  involved,  and  delivered  a  half  dozen 
superb  speeches.  Senator  Morton,  Senator  Oglesby, 


THIRD   TIME   ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  137 

Senator  Windom,  and  Senators  Sherman,  Dawes,  and 
Boutwell  took  part  in  the  canvass. 

Attorney-General  Taft,  Ex-Governor  IsToyes,  Gar- 
field,  Monroe,  Foster,  Danford,  and  Lawrence  strength 
ened  the  State  forces. 

We  can  not  waste  time  upon  the  dreary  drivel  on 
the  inflation  side  of  this  campaign.  Men  who  have 
not  learned  the  elementary  principles  of  the  science 
of  political  economy,  who  have  not  mastered  the  defi 
nitions,  as  we  say,  in  geometry,  could  say  nothing  in 
telligible  to  the  finite  understanding.  The  speeches 
were  as  "  incoherent "  as  the  !N"ew  York  World  proved 
the  platform  to  be.  They  all  contained  doctrines,  how 
ever,  in  perpendicular  antagonism  to  the  financial 
doctrines  of  the  St.  Louis  convention.  When  the  in- 
flatiflnists  learn  what  money  is — what  its  office,  its 
function  is — they  may  be  able  to  resume  the  discus 
sion  of  finance  with  their  opponents  in  the  Demo 
cratic  party. 

After  a  campaign  which  called  forth  almost  daily 
leaders  from  the  press  of  New  York  and  London,  and 
aroused  the  interest  of  Europe,  General  Hayes  was  a 
third  time  elected  governor  of  Ohio  by  a  majority  of 
5,544. 

The  character  of  the  contest  lifted  him  from  a  State 
leader  to  a  national,  an  international  man,  and  made  the 
presidency  a  possibility.  We  now  leave  the  reader  to 
engage  in  the  profitable  pleasure  of  reading  the  only 
Ohio  governor's  third  inaugural : 

Fellow-citizens  of  the  General  Assembly  : 

Questions  of  National  concern,  in  the  existing  condition  of 
public  affairs,  may  well  be  left  to  those  officers  to  whom  the  peo 
ple,  in  conformity  with  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 


138  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

have  confided  the  important  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the 
various  departments  of  the  general  government. 

During  the  term  for  which  you  have  been  elected,  the  consti 
tution  of  the  State  devolves  on  you  the  task  of  dealing  with 
many  subjects  very  interesting  to  the  people  of  Ohio.  The  duty 
of  communicating  to  you  the  condition  of  the  State,  and  of  rec 
ommending  measures  deemed  expedient,  was  performed  at  the 
opening  of  your  present  session  by  the  distinguished  citizen  who 
has  preceded  me  in  the  executive  office.  In  complying  with  the 
usage  which  requires  me  to  appear  before  you  on  this  occasion, 
I  am,  therefore,  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  entering  upon 
any  extensive  examination  of  the  subjects  which  will  claim  your 
attention.  There  are,  however,  a  few  topics  on  which  brief  sug 
gestions  may,  perhaps,  be  profitably  submitted. 

The  attention  of  the  legislature  has  often  been  earnestly  in 
voked  to  the  rapid  increase  of  municipal  and  other  local  ex 
penditures,  and  the  consequent  augmentation  of  local  taxation 
and  local  indebtedness.  This  increase  is  found  mainly  in  the  cities 
and  large  towns.  It  is  certainly  a  great  evil.  How  to  govern 
cities  well,  consistently  with  the  principles  and  methods  of  pop 
ular  government,  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  difficult 
problems  of  our  time.  Profligate  expenditure  is  the  fruitful 
cause  of  municipal  misgovernment.  If  a  means  can  be  found 
which  will  keep  municipal  expenses  from  largely  exceeding  the 
public  necessities,  its  adoption  will  go  far  toward  securing  hon 
esty  and  efficiency  in  city  affairs.  In  cities  large  debts  and  bad 
government  go  together.  Cities  which  have  the  lightest  taxes 
and  smallest  debts  are  apt,  also,  to  have  the  purest  and  most  sat 
isfactory  governments. 

The  following  statement,  showing  the  increase  of  municipal 
taxation  and  indebtedness  in  the  cities  and  large  towns  of  Ohio, 
ought  to  arrest  attention  : 

In  1871,  in  thirty-one  of  the  principal  cities  and  towns  of  the 
State,  the  average  rate  of  taxation  was  twenty- three  and  one- 
tenth  mills  on  the  dollar.  The  total  amount  of  taxes  levied  for 
all  purposes  was  $8,988,064.  The  total  indebtedness  was  $7,187,- 
082. 

In  1875.  in  the  same  cities  and  towns,  the  average  rate  of  tax 
ation  was  twenty-eight  and  three-tenths  mills  on  the  dollar.  The 


THISE    TIME   ELECTED    GOVERNOR.  139 

total  amount  of  taxes  levied  for  all  purposes  was  $12,361,934. 
The  total  indebtedness  was  $20,800,491. 

The  salient  points  in  this  statement  are,  that  in  four  years  the 
rate  of  municipal  taxation  has  increased  almost  25  per  cent. ;  the 
total  amount  of  muncipal  taxes  has  increased  over  thirty-seen  per 
cent.,  and  municipal  indebtedness  has  increased  about  one  hun 
dred  and  ninety  per  cent.,  or  more  than  thirteen  and  a  half  mill 
ions  of  dollars.  If  this  great  increase  of  burdens  affected  di 
rectly  the  whole  people  of  the  State,  they  would  give  their  agents 
in  the  legislative  and  executive  departments  of  the  State  gov 
ernment  no  peace  until  effective  measures  to  prevent  its  contin 
uance  were  adopted.  But,  in  fact,  the  whole  people  of  the  State 
are  deeply  interested  in  this  subject.  The  burdens  borne  by  the 
cities  and  towns  must  be  shared,  in  part  at  least,  by  all  who  transact 
business  with  them.  The  town  and  the  neighboring  country 
have  a  common  interest,  and,  in  many  respects  must  be  regarded 
as  one  community. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  discretion  committed  to  the  local  au 
thorities,  however  limited  and  guarded,  must  be  necessarily 
large;  that  in  respect  to  the  imposition  of  the  largest  proportion 
of  the  burden  imposed  upon  the  citizen,  they  constitute  the  real 
legislature  ;  and  that  for  the  prevention  of  the  evils  we  are  con 
sidering,  the  people  must  exercise  the  greatest  care  in  the  choice 
of  citizens  to  fill  the  important  local  offices.  Experience  does 
not  seem  to  justify  the  expectation  that  an  adequate  remedy  can 
be  obtained  in  this  way. 

I  submit  that  to  the  subject  of  local  indebtedness  the  General 
Assembly  should  apply  the  principles  of  the  State  constitution 
on  the  subject  of  State  indebtedness. 

It  is  not  enough  to  require  in  every  grant  of  special  authority 
to  incur  debt  as  a  condition  precedent  that  the  people  interested 
shall  approve  it  by  their  votes.  It  is  well  known  how  easily  such 
elections  are  carried  under  the  influence  of  local  excitement  and 
local  rivalries.  If  the  rule  of  the  State  constitution  which  for 
bids  all  debts  except  in  certain  specified  emergencies  is  deemed 
too  stringent  to  be  applied  to  local  affairs,  the  legislature  should 
at  least  accompany  every  authority  to  contract  debt  with  an  im 
perative  requirement  that  a  tax  sufficient  to  pay  off  the  indebt 
edness  within  a  brief  period  shall  be  immediately  levied,  and 
thus  compel  every  citizen  who  votes  to  increase  debts  to  vote  at 


140  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

the  same  time  for  an  immediate  increase  of  taxes  sufficient  to 
discharge  them. 

The  wisdom  of  the  policy  long  since  adopted  of  placing  a  ju 
dicious  limitation  on  the  power  of  municipal  authorities  to  levy 
taxes  has  been  vindicated  by  experience.  It  must,  however,  ul 
timately  fail  to  accomplish  its  object  if  the  increase  of  municipal 
indebtedness  is  allowed  to  go  on.  To  authorize  a  town  to  con 
tract  a  debt,  whose  expenditures  already  require  taxation  up  to 
the  limit  allowed  by  law,  is,  in  its  necessary  effect,  tantamount 
to  a  repeal  of  the  limitation. 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  eighth  article  of  the  constitution, 
already  referred  to,  the  State  debt,  notwithstanding  the  extraor 
dinary  expenditures  of  the  war,  has  been  reduced  from  over 
twenty  millions,  the  amount  due  in  1851,  until  it  is  now  only 
about  seven  millions.  An  important  part  of  the  constitutional 
provisions  which  have  been  so  successful  in  State  finances  is  the 
section  which  requires  the  creation  of  a  sinking  fund  and  the 
annual  payment  of  a  constantly  increasing  sum  on  the  principal 
of  the  State  debt.  Let  a  requirement  analogous  to  this  be  en 
acted  in  regard  to  existing  local  indebtedness ;  let  a  judicious 
limitation  of  the  rate  of  taxation  which  local  authorities  may 
levy  be  strictly  adhered  to,  and  allow  no  further  indebtedness 
to  be  authorized  except  in  conformity  with  these  principles; 
and  we  may,  I  believe,  confidently  expect  that  within  a  few 
years  the  burdens  of  debt  now  resting  upon  the  cities  and  towns 
of  the  State  will  disappear,  and  that  other  wholesome  and  much 
needed  reforms  in  the  whole  administration  of  our  municipal 
government  will  of  necessity  follow  the  adoption  of  what  may 
be  called  the  cash  system  in  local  affairs. 

Among  the  most  interesting  duties  you  will  have  to  perform 
are  those  which  relate  to  the  guardianship  and  care  of  the  un 
fortunate  classes  of  society  and  to  the  punishment  and  reforma 
tion  of  criminals.  According  to  the  latest  official  reports,  the 
State  is  responsible  for  the  support  and  care  of  about  fifteen 
thousand  of  her  dependent  citizens.  The  State  is  also  bound 
to  see  that  many  thousands  more,  who  are  imprisoned  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods  on  account  of  crime,  have  just  and  wise  treat 
ment.  There  is  annually  expended  in  the  performance  of  these 
duties  a  sum  exceeding  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars.  The 


THIRD   TIME   ELECTED   GOVEREOR.  141 


people  of  Ohio  feel  a  profound  interest  in  what  are  known  as 
the  benevolent,  reformatory,  and  penal  institutions  of  the  State. 

In  order  that  the  General  Assembly  might  from  time  to  time 
receive  full  and  accurate  information  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
management  of  these  institutions,  and  of  the  county  and  city 
jails,  infirmaries,  and  work-houses,  it  was  enacted  in  1867  that  a 
Board  of  State  Charities  be  established.  It  was  intended  that 
this  board  should  be  composed  of  citizens  of  intelligence  and 
benevolence,  who  would  serve  without  compensation.  They 
were  "  to  investigate  the  system  of  the  public  charitable  and 
correctional  institutions  of  the  State,  and  to  make  such  recom 
mendations  as  they  might  deem  necessary."  They  were  also 
required  to  make  annually  a  full  and  complete  report  of  their 
doings  to  the  legislature.  In  pursuance  of  this  law  a  board  was 
organized,  which,  at  a  trifling  expense  to  the  State,  did  much 
valuable  work.  By  reason  of  their  investigations  and  reports, 
important  improvements  were  introduced  into  the  infirmaries 
and  jails  of  the  State,  and  the  general  efficiency  of  our  penal 
and  reformatory  system  was  increased.  In  1872  the  General 
Assembly,  without  due  consideration,  it  is  believed,  repealed  the 
act  creating  the  board.  I  respectfully  recommend  that  the 
Board  of  State  Charities  be  re-established. 

It  is  believed  that  an  investigation  in  the  interest  of  economy 
will  discover  that  several  offices,  somewhat  expensive  to  the 
State,  may,  without  detriment  to  the  public  service,  be  either 
abolished,  or  so  consolidated  as  to  accomplish  a  material  saving 
to  the  treasury. 

Agreeing  generally  with  the  sentiments  of  Governor  Allen's 
recent  message,  I  desire  especially  to  concur  in  what  is  said  on 
the  subject  of  the  National  Centennial  Celebration. 

No  community  in  the  world  has  been  permitted  by  Providence 
to  enjoy  more  largely  the  blessings  conferred  on  mankind  by 
the  great  event  of  1776  than  the  people  of  Ohio.  Ohio  and  her 
interests  had  no  existence  one  hundred  years  ago.  They  are  the 
growth  of  less  than  a  century.  The  people  naturally  wish  that 
their  State,  and  her  history,  and  her  advantages  should  be  widely 
known.  No  other  such  opportunity  for  their  exhibition  will 
probably  occur  for  several  generations. 

Let  your  session  be  short — avoid  all  schemes  requiring  exces 
sive  expenditure,  whether  State  or  local,  and  your  constituents 


142  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD    B.   HAYES. 

will  cheerfully  approve  the  appropriation  required  to  secure  to 
Ohio  a  fitting  representation  in  the  approaching  celebration  of 
the  Nation's  birth. 

Before  taking  the  oath  of  office,  I  desire  to  make  my  acknowl 
edgments  to  my  predecessor,  Governor  Allen,  for  the  friendly 
and  considerate  way  in  which  he  has  treated  me,  both  during 
and  since  the  recent  political  contest  in  Ohio ;  and  to  express 
the  wish,  in  which  I  am  sure  you  and  all  the  people  whom  he 
has  served  will  unite  with  me,  that,  returning  to  his  beautiful 
home  overlooking  the  ancient  capital  of  our  State,  he  may  enjoy 
for  many  years  to  come  the  best  blessings  which  belong  to  this 
stage  of  existence. 


NOMINATION   TO   THE   PRESIDENCY.  143 


CHAPTER  X. 

NOMINATION   TO   THE    PRESIDENCY. 

Early  Suggestions — Letters  on  Subject — Garfield  Letter 
— Action  of  State  Convention — Cincinnati  Convention 
— Course  of  his  Friends — First  and  Second  Day's 
Events — Speech  of  $oyes — Balloting — Nominated  on 
Seventh  Ballot — Officially  Notified — Habits — Personal 
Appearance — Family — Letter  of  Acceptance — Charac 
ter  as  a  Soldier,  Magistrate^  and  Man — Domestic  Sur 
roundings. 

E"o  able  man  can  for  a  long  time  fill  the  office  of 
chief  magistrate  of  one  of  the  three  great  States  of 
the  Union  without  having  his  name  more  or  less  men 
tioned  by  his  friends  in  connection  with  the  presi 
dency.  As  early  as  October,  1871,  the  president  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Cincinnati,  at  a  large 
public  meeting  held  in  that  city  just  prior  to  the  fall 
election,  introduced  Governor  Hayes  as  the  next  Ke- 
publican  candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States. 

In  1872  a  modest  poet  was  inspired  by  the  surround 
ing  sentiment  to  sing : 

"  We  bow  not  down  to  yonder  rising  sun, 

As  did  the  Parsee  worshiper  of  old, 
But  bend  in  homage  when  its  race  is  run, 

And  watch  it  sink  in  purple-fretted  gold. 
And  thus  to  thee,  oh  Hayes !  the  tried,  the  true, 

On  battle-field  and  in  the  civic  chair, 
Our  heart's  deep  gratitude,  thy  meed  and  due, 

(As  closes  far  too  soon  thy  proud  career), 
Goes  out  with  benedictions  pure  and  high : 


144  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

Oh  may  thy  set  be  brief,  and,  like  the  sun, 
Eise  thou  again — thy  light  to  fill  the  sky, 

A  brighter  course  of  glory  still  to  run, 
Till  millions  now  unborn  shall  hail  thy  name 
In  ages  yet  to  come,  with  grand  acclaim  !" 

Early  in  1875  he  was  overwhelmed  with  letters 
urging  upon  him  the  acceptance  of  the  third  nomina 
tion  for  governor.  Many  of  these  letters  presented 
as  an  inducement  in  favor  of  acceptance  that  if  he 
ran  for  governor  and  succeeded  in  beating  Allen,  the 
prize  of  the  presidency  would  be  within  his  reach. 
To  one  of  these  letters  from  a  leading  editor  he  re 
plied  on  April  10 : 

"  The  personal  advantages  you  suggest  rather  tend  to  repel  me. 
The  melancholy  thing  in  our  public  life  is  the  insane  desire  to  get 
higher.  .  .  .  But  now  I  can't  take  that  direction,  and  I  will 
be  ever  so  much  obliged  if  you  will  help  drop  me  out  of  it  as 
smoothly  as  may  be." 

To  a  member  of  the  State  legislature  he  wrote : 

"  Content  with  the  past,  I  am  not  in  a  state  of  mind  about  *he 
future.  It  is  for  us  to  act  well  in  the  present.  George  E.  Pugh 
used  to  say  there  is  no  political  hereafter." 

In  the  canvass  of  1875,  so  much  were  the  hearts  of 
the  people  set  upon  having  their  great  State  leader 
the  National  leader,  that  the  masses  were  invited  in 
announcements  for  political  meetings  to  come  out  and 
hear  "  the  next  President  of  the  United  States." 

As  illustrating  the  firmness  of  Governor  Hayes  in 
adhering  to  convictions,  we  give  below  a  letter  ad 
dressed  to  Hon.  James  A.  Garfield.  It  must  be  remem 
bered  that  at  the  time  this  letter  was  written  the  paper 


NOMINATION   TO   THE    PRESIDENCY.  145 

money  madness  prevailed  through  Ohio  and  in  Con 
gress  to  an  alarming  extent. 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  STATE  OP  OHIO,          ) 
COLUMBUS,  March  4,  1876.  j 
My  Dear  General : 

I  have  your  note  of  2d.  I  am  kept  busy  with  callers,  corre 
spondence,  and  the  routine  details  of  the  office,  and  have  not 
therefore  tried  to  keep  abreast  of  the  currents  of  opinion  on 
any  of  the  issues.  My  notion  is  that  the  true  contest  is  to  be 
between  inflation  and  a  sound  currency.  The  Democrats  are 
again  drifting  all  to  the  wrong  side.  We  need  not  divide  on  de 
tails,  on  methods,  or  time  when. 

The  previous  question  will  again  be  irredeemable  paper  as  a 
permanent  policy,  or  a  policy  which  seeks  a  return  to  coin.  My 
opinion  is  decidedly  against  yielding  a  hair's  breadth. 

We  can  't  be  on  the  inflation  side  of  the  question.  We  must 
keep  our  face,  our  front,  firmly  in  the  other  direction.  "  No 
steps  backward,"  must  be  somethingmore  than  unmeaning  plat 
form  words.  "  The  drift  of  sentiment  among  our  friends  in 
Ohio,"  which  you  inquire  about,  will  depend  on  the  conduct  of 
our  leading  men.  It  is  for  them  to  see  that  the  right  sentiment 
is  steadily  upheld.  We  are  in  a  condition  such  that  firmness 
and  adherence  to  principle  are  of  peculiar  value  just  now.  1 
would  "consent "  to  no  backward  steps.  To  yield  or  compro 
mise  is  weakness,  and  will  destroy  us.  If  a  better  resumption 
measure  can  be  substituted  for  the  present  one,  that  may  do. 
But  keep  cool.  We  can  better  afford  to  be  beaten  in  Congress 
than  to  back  out. 

Sincerely, 

K.  B.  HAYES. 

Here  is  high  courage  and  lofty  political  morality. 
The  letter  proclaims  the  grand  truth  that  the  only  in 
quiry  worthy  of  a  statesman  is,  not  what  the  tendency 
of  public  opinion  is,  but  what  ought  it  to  be  ? 

To  a  delegate  to  the  Cincinnati  Convention  he 
wrote,  under  date  of  April  6 : 


146  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

"  Having  done  absolutely  nothing  to  make  myself  the  candi 
date  of  Ohio,  I  feel  very  little  responsibility  for  future  results. 
When  the  State  Convention  was  called  it  seemed  probable  that 
if  I  encouraged  my  friends  to  organize  for  the  purpose,  every 
district  would  elect  my  decided  supporters.  But  to  make  such 
an  effort  in  my  own  behalf,  to  use  Payne's  phrase  on  repudiation, 
4 1  abhorred.' " 

The  Republican  State  Convention,  which  met 
March  29,  had  passed,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  and  with 
boundless  enthusiasm,  the  following  resolution  : 

"  The  Republican  party  of  Ohio,  having  full  confidence  in  the 
honesty,  ability,  and  patriotism  of  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  cordi 
ally  presents  him  to  the  National  Republican  Convention,  for 
the  nomination  for  president  of  the  United  States,  and  our 
State  delegates  to  that  Convention  are  instructed  and  the  district 
delegates  are  requested  to  use  their  earnest  efforts  to  secure  his 
nomination." 

We  shall  not  stop  to  trace  the  growth  of  the  Hayes 
sentiment  in  other  States.  When  the  Sixth  Republi 
can  National  Convention  assembled  in  Cincinnati,  on 
June  14,  1876,  the  situation  was  this :  Hayes  was  the 
first  choice  of  every  one  for  the  second  place  on  the 
ticket,  and  every  one's  second  choice  for  the  first.  He 
and  his  friends  had  in  no  way  antagonized  other  can 
didates,  and  had  been  guilty  of  no  uncharitableness 
of  judgment  toward  them.  In  the  convention,  he 
was  modestly  presented  as  the  one  candidate  who 
could  harmonize  all  interests,  and  unite  all  party  ele 
ments.  His  friends  argued  that  he  combined  merit 
and  availability  to  a  higher  degree  than  any  one  whose 
name  was  before  the  convention. 

The  spirit  of  the  convention  was  good,  and  there 


NOMINATION  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY.        147 

seemed  a  willing  response  to  this  portion  of  the  open 
ing  prayer : 

"  By  Thy  grace,  give  to  them  a  spirit  of  concord,  that  harmony 
may  prevail  in  their  counsels ;  a  spirit  of  wisdom  that  may  dis 
cern  and  use  the  right  means  to  promote  the  end  for  which  they 
are  convened ;  a  spirit  of  patriotism,  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
Nation  may  overshadow  all  personal  or  sectional  desires ;  a  spirit 
of  courage,  that  they  may  be  faithful  to  the  deepest  convictions 
of  duty." 

Ex-Governor  Morgan,  of  New  York,  Chairman  of 
the  National  Executive  Committee,  in  his  opening 
address,  pertinently  said : 

"  Resumption  accomplished,  then,  in  all  human  probability, 
will  follow  ten  or  fifteen  years  of  prosperity,  equal  to  that  of  any 
former  period,  perhaps  greater  than  the  country  has  yet  seen. 
If  you  will,  in  addition,  put  a  plank  in  your  platform,  declaring 
for  such  an  amendment  of  the  constitution  as  will  Extend  the 
presidential  office  to  six  years,  and  make  the  incumbent  ineligi 
ble  for  re-election,  you  will  deserve  the  gratitude  of  the  Ameri 
can  people." 

The  Hon.  Theodore  M.  Pomeroy,  Temporary  Chair 
man,  forcibly  declared : 

"  No,  gentlemen,  the  late  war  was  not  a  mere  prize-fight  for 
National  supremacy.  It  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  conflict  of  ir 
reconcilable  moral,  social,  and  political  forces.  Democracy  had 
its  lot  with  the  moral,  social,  and  political  forces  of  the  cause 
which  was  lost;  the  Republican  party  with  those  which  tri 
umphed  and  survived.  The  preservation  of  the  results  of  that 
victory  devolves  upon  us  here  and  now.  Democracy  has  no  tra 
ditions  of  the  past,  no  impulses  of  the  present,  no  aspirations 
for  the  future,  fitting  it  for  this  task.  The  reaction  of  1874  has 
already  spent  itself  in  a  vain  effort  to  realize  the  situation.  It 
has  simply  demonstrated  that  no  change  in  the  machinery  of  the 
government  can  be  had  outside  of  the  Republican  party,  without 


148  LIFE   OF    RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

drawing  with  it  a  practical  nullification  of  the  great  work  of  re 
construction,  financial  chaos,  and  administrative  revolution. 
The  present  House  of  Representatives  has  succeeded  in  nothing 
except  the  development  of  its  own  incapacity/' 

The  additional  speeches  delivered  on  the  first  day 
(which  was  devoted  to  organization)  were  by  Senator 
Logan,  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  Ex-Governor 
Noyes,  Rev.  Henry  Highland  Garnett,  Ex- Governor 
Wm.  A.  Howard,  of  Michigan,  and  Fred.  Douglass. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  vociferously  applauded,  when  he 
said  : 

"  The  thing,  however,  in  which  I  feel  the  deepest  interest,  and 
the  thing  in  which  I  believe  this  country  feels  the  deepest  inter 
est,  is  that  the  principles  involved  in  the  contest  which  carried 
your  sons  and  brothers  to  the  battlefield,  which  draped  our 
Northern  churches  with  the  weeds  of  mourning,  and  filled  our 
towns  and  our  cities  with  mere  stumps  of  men — armless,  legless, 
maimed,  and  mutilated — the  thing  for  which  you  poured  out  your 
blood  and  piled  a  debt  for  after-coming  generations  higher  than 
a  mountain  of  gold,  to  weigh  down  the  necks  of  your  children 
and  your  children's  children — I  say  those  principles,  those  prin 
ciples  involved  in  that  tremendous  contest,  are  to  be  dearer  to 
the  American  people  in  the  great  political  struggle  now  upon 
them  than  any  other  principles  we  have." 

The  most  significant  event  of  the  lirst  day's  pro 
ceedings  was  the  reading  from  the  platform,  by  George 
William  Curtis,  of  the  outspoken  address  of  the  Re 
publican  Reform  Club  of  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  Hon.  Edward  McPherson,  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  chosen  permanent  chairman.  The  important 
events  of  the  second  day's  proceedings  were  the  adop 
tion  of  the  platform  and  the  putting  presidential  can 
didates  in  nomination.  The  candidate  the  convention 
subsequently  selected  was  placed  in  nomination  by 


NOMINATION  TO   THE   PRESIDENCY.  149 


Ex-Governor  Noyes,  of  Ohio,  through  the  following 
eminently  appropriate  speech  : 

GENTLEMEN  : — On  behalf  of  the  forty-four  delegates  from  Ohio, 
representing  the  entire  Republican  party  of  Ohio,  1  have  the 
honor  to  present  to  this  convention  the  name  of  a  gentleman 
well  known  and  favorably  known  throughout  the  country  ;  one 
held  in  high  respect,  and  much  beloved,  by  the  people  of  Ohio ; 
a  man  who,  during  the  dark  and  stormy  days  of  the  rebellion, 
when  those  who  are  invincible  in  peace  and  invisible  in  battle 
were  uttering  brave  words  to  cheer  their  neighbors  on,  himself, 
in  the  fore-front  of  battle,  followed  his  leaders  and  his  ilag  until 
the  authority  of  our  government  was  established  from  the  lakes 
to  the  Gulf,  and  from  the  river  round  to  the  sea.  A  man  who 
has  had  the  rare  good  fortune  since  the  war  was  over  to  be  twice 
elected  to  Congress  from  the  district  where  he  resided,  and  sub 
sequently  the  rarer  fortune  of  beating  successively  for  the  high 
est  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people  of  Ohio,  Allen  G.  Thurman, 
George  H.  Pendleton,  and  William  Allen.  He  is  a  gentleman 
who  has  somehow  fallen  into  the  habit  of  defeating  Democratic 
aspirants  for  the  Presidency,  and  we  in  Ohio  all  have  a  notion 
that  from  long  experience  he  will  be  able  to  doit  again.  In  pre 
senting  the  name  of  Governor  Hayes,  permit  me  to  say  we  wage 
no  war  upon  the  distinguished  gentlemen  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned  here  to-day.  They  have  rendered  great  service  to 
their  country,  which  entitles  them  to  our  respect  and  to  our 
gratitude.  I  have  no  word  to  utter  against  them.  I  only  wish 
to  say  that  General  Hayes  is  the  peer  of  these  gentlemen  in  in 
tegrity,  in  character,  in  ability.  They  appear  as  equals  in  all  the 
great  qualities  which  fit  men  for  the  highest  positions  which  the 
American  people  can  give  them.  Governor  Hayes  is  honest ;  he 
is  brave;  lie  is  unpretending;  he  is  wise,  sagacious,  a  scholar,  and 
a  gentleman.  Enjoying  an  independent  fortune,  the  simplicity 
of  his  private  life,  his  modesty  of  bearing,  is  a  standing  rebuke  to 
the  extravagance — the  reckless  extravagance — which  leads  to 
corruption  in  public  and  in  private  places. 

Remember  now,  delegates  to  the  convention,  that  a  responsi 
ble  duty  rests  upon  you.  You  can  be  governed  by  no  wild  im 
pulse.  You  can  run  no  fearful  risks  in  this  campaign.  You 


150  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

must,  if  you  would  succeed,  nominate  a  candidate  here  who  will 
not  only  carry  the  old,  strong  Republican  States,  but  who  will 
carry  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  New  York,  as  well  as  other  doubtful 
States.  We  care  not  who  the  man  shall  be,  other  than  our  own 
candidate.-  Whoever  you  nominate,  men  of  the  convention,  shall 
receive  our  heartiest  and  most  earnest  efforts  for  their  success. 
But  we  beg  to  submit  that  in  Governor  Hayes  you  have  those 
qualities  which  are  calculated  best  to  compromise  all  difficulties, 
and  to  soften  all  antagonisms.  He  has  no  personal  enemies.  His 
private  life  is  so  pure  that  no  man  has  ever  dared  to  assail  it. 
His  public  acts  throughout  all  these  years  have  been  above  sus 
picion  even.  I  ask  you,  then,  if,  in  tho  lack  of  these  antagonisms, 
and  with  all  of  these  good  qualities,  living  in  a  State  which  holds 
its  election  in  October,  the  result  of  which  will  be  decisive,  it 
may  be,  of  the  presidential  campaign — it  is  not  worth  while  to 
see  to  it  that  a  candidate  is  nominated  against  whom  nothing 
can  be  said,  and  who  is  sure  to  succeed  in  the  campaign  ? 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  say  that,  if  the  wisdom  of  this 
convention  shall  decide  at  last  that  Governor  Hayes'  nomination 
is  safest,  and  is  best,  that  decision  will  meet  with  such  responsive 
enthusiasm  here  in  Ohio  as  will  insure  Republican  success  at 
home,  and  which  will  be  so  far-reaching  and  wide-spreading  as 
to  make  success  almost  certain  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

The  nomination  was  seconded  by  Benjamin  F. 
Wade,  of  Ohio,  Colonel  J.  W.  Davis,  of  West  Vir 
ginia,  Hon.  A.  St.  Gem,  and  Hon.  J.  P.  Jones,  of  Mis 
souri. 

The  third  and  last  day  of  the  sitting  of  the  Con 
vention  was  employed  inballotting  and  in  making  the 
nominations. 

At  twenty  minutes  to  11  the  balloting  for  president 
began  : 


NOMINATION   TO   THE    PRESIDENCY. 


151 


FIRST   BALLOT. 


1 

STATES. 

to 

IP 

5' 

m 

: 

Morton  

Iconkling  ... 

Bristow  

S3 

1 

Hartranft.. 

1  Wheeler  

CD 
1 

: 
: 

10 

7 

2 

1 

1? 

q 

1 

9 

?, 

10 

0 

1 

4 

3 

5 

8 

8 

3 

38 

8 

1 

no 

22 

10 

94 

1 

14 

Maiue                                                               

14 

Maryland 

16 

Massachusetts                     

6 

17 

3 

R 

1 

Q 

4 

10 

1? 

3 

14 

13 

1 

9 

1 

Nebraska   

b 

? 

1 

JJ 

o 

jfew  jersey 

1 

New  York                                                              

C,() 

1 

North  Carolina 

1 

Ohio                                         

44 

ri8 

Rhode  Island                                     .           

6 

IK 

1 

Texas.           .        

j 

0 

1( 

1( 

8 

1 

1 

j 

•^ 

West  Virginia 

2 

2 

Colorado  *  .. 

Dakota  

Idaho     

Utah  

District  of  Columbia 

9 

Wyoming  .. 

1 

1 

Totals  

?,85 

125 

99 

Im 

61 

r.8 

. 

11 

152  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

The  second  ballot  resulted  as  follows  :  Elaine,  296  ; 
Morton,  120;  Bristow,  114 ;  Conkling,  93 ;  Hayes, 
64  ;  Hartranft,  63  :  Wheeler,  3  ;  Washburne,  1. 

Third  ballot:  Blaine,  293;  Bristow,  121;  Morton, 
113;  Conkling,  90;  Hartranft,  68;  Hayes,  67; 
Wheeler,  2  ;  Washburne,  1. 

Fourth  ballot :  Blaine,  292  ;  Bristow,  126;  Morton, 
108  ;  Conkling,  84 ;  Hartranft,  71 ;  Hayes,  68 ;  Wash 
burne,  3;  Wheeler,  2. 

Fifth  ballot :  Whole  number  of  votes  cast,  755. 
Necessary  to  a  choice,  378.  Not  voting,  1.  Blaine, 
286  ;  Morton,  95  ;  Bristow,  114  ;  Conkling,  82 ;  Hayes, 
104;  Hartranft,  69 ;  Wheeler  (Mass.),  2  ;  Washburne, 
(Ga.  1,  111.  1,  Minn.  1),  3. 

On  this  ballot  Hayes  passed  from  the  fifth  to  the 
third  place,  through  the  aid  of  22  votes  cast  for  him 
by  Michigan,  and  12  by  North  Carolina.  This  was 
the  first  distinct  foreshadowing  of  the  result. 

On  the  sixth  ballot  Hayes  was  second,  the  vote 
standing:  Blaine,  308;  Hayes,  113;  Bristow,  111; 
Morton,  85;  Conkling,  81;  Hartranft,  50;  Wash 
burne,  5;  Wheeler,  2. 

The  decisive  ballot  stood  : 


NOMINATION   TO   THE   PRESIDENCY. 


153 


SEVENTH   BALLOT. 


STATES. 

P" 

Ulaiue  

Bristow  

17 

3 

Arkansas  

1 

11 

o 

Iti 

3 

9 

7 

Delaware  

r, 

Florida  

8 

7 

14 

1 

Illinois  

5 

25 

99 

Kansas  

10 

24 

2 

14 

Maine  

14 

Maryland 

Ifi 

Massachusetts  

21 

5 

99 

1 

q 

Ifi 

Missouri  

10 

9Q 

G 

Nevada  .           

fi 

New  Hampshire  . 

3 

7 

P 

1? 

New  York  .      ..  . 

fil 

q 

20 

Ohio  

44 

Oregon  ... 

i; 

28 

so 

Rhode  Island  

fi 

South  Carolina  

7 

7 

Texas. 

15 

1 

18 

fi 

Vermont  

10 

8 

14 

West  Virginia  

fi 

4 

Ifi 

? 

Colorado  

fi 

Dakotah  

Idaho  

2 

Montana  

2 

New  Mexico  

2 

Utah  

fi 

District  of  Columbia  

9 

Washington  

2 

Wyoming  

9 

Totals  

384 

351 

21 

The  nomination  of  Governor  Hayes  was  received 
with  indescribable  enthusiasm,  with    long-continued 


154  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

cheering,  and  every  other  demonstration  of  joy  and 
delight. 

Outside  of  Ohio  the  State  that  contributed  most  to 
this  far-reaching  result  was  Michigan.  From  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Bristow  telegraphed  to  the  Kentucky  dele 
gation  several  hours  before  the  crisis  was  reached  to 
cast  their  votes  for  Hayes,  that  State  should  share, 
after  Michigan,  the  honor  of  achieving  the  grand  re 
sult.  Indiana,  North  Carolina,  and  New  York  fol 
lowed  close  upon  Kentucky,  if  it  is  possible  to  com 
pare  the  value  of  the  aid  each  State  brought. 

On  motion  of  the  Hon.  Wm.  P.  Frye,  of  Maine, 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes  was  declared  the  unanimous 
choice  of  the  Republican  National  Convention  for 
President  of  the  United  States. 

This  great  convention  concluded  its  labors  by  nom 
inating  the  able  and  incorruptible  Wm.  A.  Wheeler, 
of  New  York,  for  vice-president  by  acclamation. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  the  day  following  the  nomi 
nation,  the  committee  appointed  by  the  convention  to 
notify  Governor  Hayes  of  the  fact  presented  them 
selves  in  the  executive  office  at  Columbus. 

Mr.  McPherson,  the  chairman,  approaching  him, 
said : 

"  GOVERNOR  HAYES  :  We  have  been  deputed  by  the  National 
convention  of  the  Republican  party,  holden  at  Cincinnati  on 
the  14th  of  the  present  month,  to  inform  you  officially  that  you 
have  been  unanimously  nominated  by  that  convention  for  the 
office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  The  manner  in  which 
that  action  was  taken,  and  the  response  to  it  from  every  portion 
of  the  country,  attest  the  strength  of  the  popular  confidence  in 
you  and  the  belief  that  your  administration  will  be  wise,  cour 
ageous,  and  just.  We  say,  sir,  your  administration,  for  we  believe 
that  the  people  will  confirm  the  action  of  the  convention,  and 


NOMINATION  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY.        155 

thus  save  the  country  from  the  control  of  the  men  and  the  op 
erations  of  the  principles  and  policy  of  the  Democratic  party. 
We  have  also  been  directed  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  sum 
mary  of  the  Republican  doctrine  contained  in  the  platform 
adopted  by  the  convention.  In  discharging  this  agreeable  duty 
we  find  cause  of  congratulation  in  the  harmonious  action  of  the 
convention,  and  in  the  hearty  response  given  by  the  people  we 
see  the  promise  of  assured  success.  Ohio,  we  know,  trusts  and 
honors  you.  Henceforth  you  belong  to  the  whole  country. 
Under  circumstances  so  auspicious,  we  trust  you  will  indicate 
your  acceptance  of  the  nomination." 

The  governor,  who  had  had  no  intimation  as  to 
what  the  length  or  character  of  the  address  would  he, 
was  left  in  doubt  with  respect  to  the  response  expected 
from  him  by  the  committee.  He,  however,  without 
embarrassment,  but  in  an  intentionally  subdued  tone 
of  voice,  gave  this  appropriately  brief  reply  : 

"  SIR  :  I  have  only  to  say  in  response  to  your  information  that 
1  accept  the  nomination.  Perhaps  at  the  present  time  it  would 
be  improper  for  me  to  say  more  than  this,  although  even  now  I 
should  be  glad  to  give  some  expression  to  the  profound  sense  of 
gratitude  I  feel  for  the  confidence  reposed  in  me  by  yourselves 
and  those  for  whom  you  act.  At  a  future  time  I  shall  take  oc 
casion  to  present  my  acceptance  in  writing,  with  my  views  upon 
the  platform." 

Since  his  nomination  for  the  presidency,  Governor 
Hayes  has  changed  in  no  perceptible  respect  the 
habits,  recreations,  or  labors  of  his  daily  life.  He 
rises  early  and  accomplishes  much  work  before  break 
fast.  He  labors  in  the  executive  office  in  the  capitol 
from  nine  until  five,  discharging  his  varied  duties  as 
governor,  answering  or  dictating  the  answers  to  be 
given  his  official,  political,  and  private  correspondence, 
and  remaining  at  all  times  accessible  to  visitors  of 


156  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

every  age,  sex,  color,  and  condition,  who  seek  to  see 
him.  His  evenings  are  passed  with  his  family,  or  at 
the  social  parties  of  his  many  friends.  He  makes  his 
customary  trips  to  his  home  and  farms  near  Fremont, 
and,  while  profitably  managing  large  property  inter 
ests,  finds  time  to  devote  to  pioneer  history,  to  domes 
tic  architecture,  to  gardening,  to  general  literature,  to 
languages,  and  other  liberal  studies  and  pursuits.  He 
is  sobered,  but  not  overpowered  or  oppressed  by  the 
new  responsibilities  cast  upon  him.  He  suffers  him 
self  to  be — as  he  ever  has  been — natural.  Moderate, 
discreet,  and  wise  in  all  things  as  he  has  been  in  the 
past  and  is  in  the  present,  he  is  conspicuously  one  who 
grows  wiser  each  day  that  he  lives. 

Governor  Hayes  has  reached,  the  age  of  fifty-four, 
is  five  feet  nine  inches  in  height,  and  weighs  one  hun 
dred  and  eighty  pounds.  Perfect  health  and  habits 
leave  him  just  in  the  ripe  maturity  of  physical  man 
hood  and  mind.  His  shoulders  and  breast  are  broad, 
his  frame  solid  and  compact,  his  limbs  muscular  and 
strong.  He  has  a  fresh,  ruddy  complexion,  is  full  of 
activity  and  elasticity,  and  is  very  fond  of  the  amuse 
ments  of  young  people.  He  has  an  exceptionally  high 
and  full  forehead,  a  prominent  nose,  and  bluish-gray 
eyes.  A  heavy  sandy  mustache  and  beard,  which  are 
silvered  a  little,  conceal  his  mouth  and  chin.  His 
light-brown  hair  is  thin  and  slightly  sprinkled  with 
gray. 

The  Governor  is  the  father  of  eight  children,  five 
of  whom  are  now  living.  Those  still  living  were 
born  as  follows :  Birchard  Austin,  November  4, 
1853;  Webb  Cook,  March  20,  1856;  Rutherford 


NOMINATION   TO   THE   PRESIDENCY.  157 

Platt,  June  24,  1858 ;  Fanny  Hayes,  September  2, 
1867;  Scott  Russell,  February  8,  1871. 

The  youngest  of  these  children  was  born  in  Colum 
bus,  the  others  in  Cincinnati.  The  oldest  son  gradu 
ated  at  Cornell  University,  in  the  class  of  1874,  and 
is  now  at  the  Harvard  Law  School.  The  second  son 
passed  three  years  at  Cornell,  and  is  now  at  home. 
The  third  son  is  at  Cornell. 

Three  weeks  from  the  day  that  Governor  Hayes 
was  nominated  for  the  Presidency,  his  private  secre 
tary,  Captain  A.  E.  Lee,  put  upon  the  telegraphic 
wires,  at  Columbus,  the  following  accurate  copy  of 

THE   LETTER  OF   ACCEPTANCE. 

COLUMBUS,  OHIO,  July  8,  1876. 
Hon.  Edward  McPherson,  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Howard,  Hon.  Joseph 

II.  Rainey,  and  others,  Committee  of  the  Republican  National 

Convention. 

GENTLEMEN  :  In  reply  to  your  official  communication  of  June 
17,  by  which  I  am  informed  of  my  nomination  for  the  office  of 
President  of  the  United  States  by  the  Republican  National 
Convention  at  Cincinnati,  I  accept  the  nomination  with  grati 
tude,  hoping  that,  under  Providence,  I  shall  be  able,  if  elected, 
to  execute  the  duties  of  the  high  office  as  a  trust  for  the  benefit 
of  all  the  people. 

I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to  enter  upon  any  extended  exam 
ination  of  the  declaration  of  principles  made  by  the  convention. 
The  resolutions  are  in  accord  with  my  views,  and  I  heartily  con 
cur  in  the  principles  they  announce.  In  several  of  the  resolu 
tions,  however,  questions  are  considered  which  are  of  such  im 
portance  that  I  deem  it  proper  to  briefly  express  my  convictions 
in  regard  to  them. 

The  fifth  resolution  adopted  by  the  convention  is  of  paramount 
interest.  More  than  forty  years  ago,  a  system  of  making  appoint 
ments  to  office  grew  up,  based  upon  the  maxim  "  To  the  victors 
belong  the  spoils."  The  old  rule— the  true  rule— that  honesty, 
capacity,  and  fidelity  constitute  the  only  real  qualifications  for 


158  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

office,  and  that  there  is  no  other  claim,  gave  place  to  the  idea 
that  party  services  were  to  be  chiefly  considered.  All  parties,  in 
practice,  have  adopted  this  system.  It  has  been  essentially  modi 
fied  since  its  first  introduction.  It  has  not,  however,  been  im 
proved. 

At  first  the  president,  either  directly  or  through  the  heads  of 
departments,  made  all  the  appointments.  But  gradually  the 
appointing  power,  in  many  cases,  passed  into  the  control  of  mem 
bers  of  Congress.  The  offices,  in  these  cases,  have  become  not 
merely  rewards  for  party  services,  but  rewards  for  services  to 
party  leaders.  This  system  destroys  the  independence  of  the 
separate  departments  of  the  government ;  it  tends  directly  to 
extravagance  and  official  incapacity;  it  is  a  temptation  to  dis 
honesty;  it  hinders  and  impairs  that  careful  supervision  and 
strict  accountability  by  which  alone  faithful  and  efficient  public 
service  can  be  secured;  it  obstructs  the  prompt  removal  and 
sure  punishment  of  the  unworthy.  In  every  way  it  degrades  the 
civil  service  and  the  character  of  the  government.  It  is  felt,  I 
am  confident,  by  a  large  majority  of  the  members  of  Congress, 
to  be  an  intolerable  burden,  and  an  unwarrantable  hindrance  to 
the  proper  discharge  of  their  legitimate  duties.  It  ought  to  be 
abolished.  The  reform  should  be  thorough,  radical,  and  com 
plete. 

We  should  return  to  the  principles  and  practice  of  the  foun 
ders  of  the  government,  supplying  by  legislation,  when  needed, 
that  which  was  formerly  established  custom.  They  neither  ex 
pected  nor  desired  from  the  public  officer  any  partisan  service. 
They  meant  that  public  officers  should  owe  their  whole  service  to 
the  government  and  to  the  people.  They  meant  that  the  officer 
should  be  secure  in  his  tenure  as  long  as  his  personal  character 
remained  untarnished,  and  the  performance  of  his  duties  satis 
factory.  If  elected,  I  shall  conduct  the  administration  of  the 
government  upon  these  principles ;  and  all  constitutional  powers 
vested  in  the  executive  will  be  employed  to  establish  this  reform. 

The  declaration  of  principles  by  the  Cincinnati  Convention 
makes  no  announcement  in  favor  of  a  single  presidential  term. 
I  do  not  assume  to  add  to  that  declaration  ;  but,  believing  that 
the  restoration  of  the  civil  service  to  the  system  established  by 
Washington  and  followed  by  the  early  presidents  can  be  best  ac 
complished  by  an  executive  who  is  under  no  temptation  to  use 


NOMINATION   TO    THE    PRESIDENCY.  159 

the  patronage  of  his  office  to  promote  his  own  re-election,  I  de 
sire  to  perform  what  1  regard  as  a  duty,  in  stating  now  my  in 
flexible  purpose,  if  elected,  not  to  be  a  candidate  for  election 
to  a  second  term. 

On  the  currency  question,  I  have  frequently  expressed  my 
views  in  public,  and  I  stand  by  my  record  on  this  subject,  i  re 
gard  all  the  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  the  payment 
of  the  public  indebtedness,  the  legal  tender  notes  included,  as 
constituting  a  pledge  and  moral  obligation  of  the  Government, 
which  must  in  good  faith  be  kept.  It  is  my  conviction  that  the 
feeling  of  uncertainty  inseparable  from  an  irredeemable  paper 
currency,  with  its  fluctuations  of  values,  is  one  of  the  great  ob 
stacles  to  a  revival  of  confidence  and  business,  and  to  a  return 
of  prosperity.  That  uncertainty  can  be  ended  in  but  one  way — 
the  resumption  of  specie  payments;  but  the  longer  the  insta 
bility  connected  with  our  present  money  system  is  permitted  to 
continue,  the  greater  will  be  the  injury  inflicted  upon  our  eco 
nomical  interests,  and  all  classes  of  society. 

If  elected,  I  shall  approve  every  appropriate  measure  to  ac 
complish  the  desired  end,  and  shall  oppose  any  step  backward. 

The  resolution  with  respect  to  the  public  school  system  is  one 
which  should  receive  the  hearty  support  of  the  American  people. 
Agitation  upon  this  subject  is  to  be  apprehended,  until,  by  con 
stitutional  amendment,  the  schools  are  placed  beyond  all  danger 
of  sectarian  control  or  interference.  The  Republican  party  is 
pledged  to  secure  such  an  amendment. 

The  resolution  of  the  convention  on  the  subject  of  the  perma 
nent  pacilication  of  the  country,  and  the  complete  protection  of 
all  its  citizens  in  the  free  enjoyment  of  all  their  constitutional 
rights,  is  timely  and  of  great  importance.  The  condition  of  the 
Southern  States  attracts  the  attention  and  commands  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  people  of  the  whole  Union.  In  their  progressive 
recovery  from  the  effects  of  the  war,  their  first  necessity  is  an 
intelligent  and  honest  administration  of  government,  which  will 
protect  all  classes  of  citizens  in  all  their  political  and  private  rights. 
What  the  South  most  needs  is  peace,  and  peace  depends  upon 
the  supremacy  of  law.  There  can  be  no  enduring  peace  if  the 
constitutional  rights  of  any  portion  of  the  people  are  habitually 
disregarded.  A  division  of  political  parties,  resting  merely  upon 
distinctions  of  race,  or  upon  sectional  lines,  is  always  unfortu- 


160  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

nate,  and  may  be  disastrous.  The  welfare  of  the  South,  alike 
with  that  of  every  other  part  of  the  country,  depends  upon  the 
attractions  it  can  offer  to  labor,  to  immigration,  and  to  capital. 
But  laborers  will  not  go,  and  capital  will  not  bo  ventured,  where 
the  constitution  and  the  laws  are  set  at  defiance,  and  distraction, 
apprehension,  and  alarm,  take  the  place  of  peace-loving  and 
law-abiding  social  life.  All  parts  of  the  constitution  are  sacred, 
and  must  be  sacredly  observed — the  parts  that  are  new  no  less 
than  the  parts  that  are  old.  The  moral  and  material  prosperity 
of  the  Southern  States  can  be  most  effectively  advanced  by  a 
hearty  and  generous  recognition  of  the  rights  of  all  by  all — a 
recognition  without  reserve  or  exception. 

With  such  a  recognition  fully  accorded,  it  will  be  practicable 
to  promote,  by  the  influence  of  a&  legitimate  agencies  of  the 
general  government,  the  efforts  of  the  people  of  those  States  to 
obtain  for  themselves  the  blessings  of  honest  and  capable  local 
government. 

If  elected,  I  shall  consider  it  not  only  my  duty,  but  it  will  be 
my  ardent  desire,  to  labor  for  the  attainment  of  this  end. 

Let  me  assure  my  countrymen  of  the  Southern  States  that  if 
I  shall  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  organizing  an  Administration, 
it  will  be  one  which  will  regard  and  cherish  their  truest  interests 
— the  interests  of  the  white  and  of  the  colored  people  both,  and 
equally;  and  which  will  put  forth  its  best  efforts  in  behalf  of  a 
civil  policy  which  will  wipe  out  forever  the  distinction  between 
North  and  South  in  our  common  country. 

With  a  civil  service  organized  upon  a  system  which  will  secure 
purity,  experience,  efficiency,  and  economy ;  with  a  strict  regard 
for  the  public  welfare,  solely,  in  appointments ;  with  the  speedy, 
thorough,  and  unsparing  prosecution  and  punishment  of  all  pub 
lic  officers  who  betray  official  trusts ;  with  a  sound  currency ; 
with  education  unsectarian  and  free  to  all ;  with  simplicity  and 
frugality  in  public  and  private  affairs,  and  with  a  fraternal  spirit 
of  harmony  pervading  the  people  of  all  sections  and  classes,  we 
may  reasonably  hope  that  the  second  century  of  our  existence 
as  a  Nation  will,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  pre-eminent  as  an 
era  of  good  feeling,  and  a  period  of  progress,  prosperity,  and 
happiness.  Very  respectfully, 

Your  fellow-citizen, 

R.  B.  HAYES. 


NOMINATION  TO   THE   PRESIDENCY.  161 

The  non-partisan  verdict  upon  this  letter  is  that  it 
is  faultless  in  style,  sound  in  principle,  courageous, 
broad  and  elevated  in  tone,  liberal,  wise,  statesman 
like,  and  strong.  It  is,  in  short,  the  declaration  of 
faith  of  an  honest  man  who  has  a  heart  in  his  breast 
and  a  head  on  his  shoulders,  with  purity  in  that  heart 
and  brains  in  that  head. 

The  conclusions  which  follow  our  study  of  the  pub 
lic  career  of  Eutherford  Birchard  Hayes,  and  the 
study  of  that  interior  life,  the  beauty  of  which  the 
world  will  not  know  until  he  has  passed  from  it,  are 
briefly  these. 

In  boyhood,  in  battle,  in  the  civic  chair,  in  the  es 
teem  of  his  State,  in  every  duty  and  relation  of  life, 
he  has  been  first,  and  now,  it  would  seem,  is  first  iii 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  As  a  student,  he  was 
foremost ;  as  a  lawyer,  he  was  in  the  front  rank;  as  a 
soldier,  he  was  the  bravest ;  as  a  legislator,  the  most 
judicious ;  as  a  governor,  second  to  none  of  Ohio's 
great  magistrates. 

The  most  striking  characteristic  of  Hayes  as  a  sol 
dier  was  his  personal  intrepidity.  Anthony  Wayne, 
Francis  Marion,  and  Ethan  Allen  were  called  brave 
men  in  the  Revolution,  and  so  they  were ;  but  we  look 
in  vain  in  their  histories  for  as  numerous  proofs  of 
unsurpassable  daring  as  the  hero  of  Cloyd  Mountain, 
Cedar  Creek,  and  South  Mountain,  has  given  us. 
Four  horses  shot  under  him;  four  wounds  in  action; 
fighting  after  he  fell ;  a  hundred  days  exposed  to 
death  under  fire — these  are  the  evidences  of  as  lofty 
a  courage  as  is  yet  known  among  men. 

As  a  regimental,  brigade,  and  division  commander, 
his  most  striking  quality  as  a  leader  was  his  impetu- 


162  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

osity.  General  Crook  used  to  say  that  Hayes  fought 
infantry  as  other  men  fought  cavalry.  He  was  always 
wanting  to  move  forward,  to  charge,  to  get  at  the 
enemy  with  cold  steel.  His  favorite  step  was  the 
double-quick;  his  choice  of  distance  two  paces;  and 
his  preferred  mode  of  fighting,  the  hand-to-hand  grap 
ple.  This  meant  business,  was  decisive,  and  was  soon 
over. 

Another  characteristic  was  his  constant  care  for  the 
comfort  of  his  soldiers.  He  was  much  in  the  hospitals, 
cheering  up  the  wounded,  writing  letters  for  them, 
and  sending  last  messages  from  the  lips  of  the  dying 
to  wives,  mothers,  and  friends.  He  shared  his  blanket, 
his  last  crust,  his  last  penny,  with  the  neediest  of  his 
men,  and  abstained  from  food  when  they  had  none. 

His  house  is  to-day,  and  has  been  since  the  war,  a 
soldiers'  home,  where  all  who  served  with  him  are  in 
vited  to  come  at  all  times  and  partake  at  his  own 
table  with  his  wife  and  children.  Seldom  is  this  gen 
erous  hospitality  imposed  on  by  the  members  of  his 
large  military  family.  Once,  only,  a  pseudo-soldier, 
whom  the  children  called  the  "  Veteran,"  having 
served  two  days  and  a  half  in  the  army,  remained 
just  double  the  term  of  his  military  service  under  the 
governor's  roof.  He  doubtless  found  that  the  rations 
at  this  camp  were  good. 

As  a  civil  magistrate,  Governor  Hayes  has  devel 
oped  executive  and  administrative  abilities  of  the 
highest  order.  He  has  a  practical,  common-sense, 
direct  way  of  doing  things.  He  first  finds  what 
things  ought  to  be  done,  and  then  how.  When  his 
own  party  has  been  in  a  minority,  he  has  made 
friends  with  a  few  of  the  most  reasonable  men  in  the 


NOMINATION   TO    THE    PRESIDENCY.  163 

opposition,  and  through  them,  as  instruments,  has  ac 
complished  his  purposes. 

He  is  a  discriminating  judge  of  human  nature,  and 
is  magnetic  enough  to  make  legislators  follow  his 
lead,  as  his  soldiers  followed  him. 

He  has  fixed  rules  of  official  conduct  to  which  he 
adheres  in  all  cases.  For  example,  if  he  has  a  judge 
to  appoint — and  he  has  appointed  many  to  fill  vacan 
cies — his  simple  inquiry  is,  Whom  do  the  members  of 
the  legal  profession  want,  who  live  in  the  judicial 
district  to  be  provided  for  ?  When  that  fact  is  accu 
rately  ascertained,  the  appointment  follows  as  a  mat 
ter  of  course,  even  though  the  lawyer  preferred  may 
be  his  personal  enemy.  In  the  interests  of  learning, 
higher  education,  human  benevolence,  and  equal 
rights,  Hayes  has  accomplished  more  than  any  gov 
ernor  Ohio  has  yet  had.  We  make  this  statement 
with  the  honorable  records  of  old  Jeremiah  Morrow, 
Corwin,  Chase,  Tod,  Brough,  and  Cox  spread  before 
us. 

In  a  word,  Governor  Hayes  is  square-built,  solid 
and  sound,  mentally,  morally,  and  physically.  His  in 
tegrity  is  a  proverb ;  his  fidelity  to  his  convictions  is 
recognized  by  political  enemies ;  his  record  is  of  un 
assailable  soundness ;  and  there  is  absolutely  nothing 
vulnerable  in  his  character.  He  has  a  Lincoln-like 
soundness  of  judgment,  and  is  as  inexorably  just  as 
old  John  Marshall.  He  is  a  man  absolutely  free  from 
eccentricities  and  affectations ;  he  neither  walks  nor 
talks  on  stilts.  His  manners  have  the  warmth  and 
grace  that  sincerity  and  simplicity  give.  In  bearing, 
he  is  animated  and  thoughtful,  manly  and  refined. 
His  firmness,  while  it  does  not  amount  to  obstinacy, 


164  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

marks  the  clear-cut  individuality  and  decision  of  his 
character.  He  has  the  guiding  faculty  and  the  power 
of  containing  himself.  He  takes  a  just  measure  both 
of  himself  and  of  other  men.  If  the  country  will  do 
this,  his  future  is  as  secure  as  his  past.  If  president, 
he  would  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time,  in  the 
right  way.  His  election  will  give  us,  not  a  "  solid 
South"  or  a  solid  North,  but  a  solid  Union  ! 

Since  experience  has  taught  us  how  essential  it  is 
that  the  representative  of  the  women  of  America  in 
the  executive  mansion  should  worthily  represent  all 
that  is  best  and  most  elevated  in  our  social  life,  a  word 
in  regard  to  the  companion  of  Governor  Hayes  may 
not  be  out  of  taste.  If  any  public  man  in  our  history 
has  been  more  fortunate  and  happy  in  his  home  sur 
roundings  and  family  relations,  we  are  not  aware  who 
he  may  be.  If  the  voice  of  the  people  should  decree 
the  transplanting  of  the  ideal  home  of  this  family 
from  the  capital  of  Ohio  to  the  capital  of  the  Repub 
lic,  the  pure  and  elevating  influences  radiating  from 
such  a  home  would  pervade  and  purify  the  social  life  of 
the  National  city,  if  not  of  the  land.  A  severer  simplic 
ity  would  mark  the  inner  and  the  outer  life  of  the 
president's  household.  Extravagance  in  dress  and 
living,  wastefulness  in  vain  displays  and  in  ambitious 
entertainments,  would  find  no  encouragement  from 
the  mistress  of  the  Nation's  mansion.  The  lessons 
of  truth  and  piety,  of  purity  and  virtue,  of  charity 
and  benevolence,  of  sincerity  and  self-forgetfulness, 
would  be  taught  by  example.  A  whole  people  could 
here  find  in  illustration  the  sacredness  of  the  family 
and  the  holiness  of  home. 

A  union  of  rare  accomplishments,  social  and  do- 


NOMINATION  TO  THE  PRESIDENCY.        165 

mestic,  with  beauty  of  features,  manners,  and  char 
acter,  may  yet  be  found  in  a  successor  of  Mrs.  Mad 
ison. 

A  doctor  of  divinity  and  a  doctor  of  laws,  the  pres 
ident  of  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  bears  this 
weighty  testimony,  in  a  public  address,  to  the  correct 
ness  of  what  we  have  hereinbefore  recorded  : 

"  It  is  in  no  spirit  of  partisanship,  nor  with  the  slightest  refer 
ence  to  merely  political  ends,  but  simply  in  illustration  of  our 
subject  that  we  add,  already  there  are  hopeful  signs  of  reforma 
tion  in  our  National  life.  It  is  a  sign  of  progress  that  the  sus 
picion  of  sullied  purity  is  beginning  to  be  fatal  to  a  public  man. 
It  is  an  omen  of  good  when  in  a  large  and  representative  con 
vention,  with  the  names  of  many  distinguished  men  before  it, 
one  is  borne  above  them  all  on  the  tide  of  popular  enthusiasm 
and  with  ringing  peals  of  applause  is  presented  to  the  American 
people,  without  effort  of  his  own,  as  a  candidate  for  the  highest 
office  in  the  Nation,  not  only  because  of  his  eminent  ability,  but 
largely  because  of  the  transparent  purity  of  his  character  and 
his  high,  manly,  moral  worth. 

"  It  is  doubtless  a  cause  of  honest  pride  to  the  citizens  of  this 
town,  irrespective  of  political  creeds  and  preferences,  that  the 
man  thus  highly  distinguished  is  a  native  of  your  classic  city. 
By  reason  of  its  youth  this  university  can  not  claim  him  as  a 
son,  but  it  regards  with  maternal  pride  his  not  less  worthy  com 
panion,  who,  after  graduation  at  one  of  the  best  female  colleges 
in  the  State,  indicated  her  rare  good  sense  by  passing  through 
much  of  the  college  curriculum  of  our  university  here. 

"  If,  by  the  decree  of  the  people  and  the  providence  of  God,  this 
worthy  pair,  honored  graduates  of  Ohio's  higher  schools  of  learn 
ing,  shall  be  lifted  to  the  highest  position  and  power  and  influ 
ence  in  the  Nation,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  they  will 
illustrate  the  salutary  influence  of  that  cultured  goodness  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  and  that  the  National  capital  and  the 
entire  National  domain  will  enjoy  a  purer  atmosphere." 


APPENDIX. 


Speech  of  GENERAL  R.  B.  HAYES,  delivered  at  Lebanon, 
Ohio,  August  5,  1867. 

Fellow-Citizens : 

President  Lincoln  began  his  memorable  address  at  the  dedi 
cation  of  the  Gettysburg  National  Cemetery  with  these  words : 

"  Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  on 
this  continent  a  new  Nation,  conceived  in  liberty  and  dedicated 
to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal." 

This  was  Abraham  Lincoln's  opinion  of  what  was  accom 
plished  and  what  was  meant  by  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence.  His  idea  was  that  it  gave  birth  to  a  Nation,  and  that  it 
dedicated  that  Nation  to  equal  rights. 

Now,  so  far  as  the  performance  of  duty  in  the  present  condi 
tion  of  our  country  is  concerned,  "this  is  the  whole  law  and  the 
prophets."  The  United  States  are  not  a  confederacy  of  inde 
pendent  and  sovereign  States,  bound  together  by  a  mere  treaty 
or  a  compact,  but  the  people  of  the  United  States  constitute  a  Na 
tion,  having  one  flag,  one  history,  "one  country,  one  constitu 
tion,  one  destiny."  Whoever  seeks  to  divide  this  Nation  into 
two  sections — into  a  North  and  a  South,  or  into  four  sections,  ac 
cording  to  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass,  or  into  thirty  or 
forty  independent  sovereignties — is  opposed  to  the  Nation,  and 
the  Nation's  friends  should  be  opposed  to  him. 

Washington, in  his  Farewell  Address,  says  : 

"  The  unity  of  government,  which  constitutes  you  one  people, 
is  also  now  dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar  in 
the  edifice  of  your  real  independence,  the  support  of  your  tran 
quillity  at  home,  your  peace  abroad ;  of  your  safety,  of  your  pros 
perity,  of  that  very  liberty  which  you  so  highly  prize.  .  .  . 
The  name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  you  in  your  National 

(167) 


168  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


capacity,  must  always  exalt  the  just  pride  of  patriotism  more 
than  any  appellation  derived  from  local  discriminations.  With 
slight  shades  of  difference,  you  have  the  same  religion,  manners, 
habits,  and  political  principles.  You  have,  in  a  common  cause, 
fought  and  triumphed  together ;  the  independence  and  liberty 
you  possess  are  the  work  of  joint  counsels  and  joint  efforts — of 
common  dangers,  sufferings,  and  successes." 

The  sentiment  of  Nationality  is  the  sentiment  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence ;  it  is  the  sentiment  of  the  fathers ;  it  is 
the  sentiment  which  carried  us  through  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  through  the  war  of  the  late  Rebellion ;  and  it  is  a  sen 
timent  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  ought  forever  to 
cultivate  and  cherish. 

The  great  idea  to  which  the  Nation,  according  to  Mr.  Lincoln, 
was  dedicated  by  the  fathers  is  expressed  in  the  Declaration  in 
these  familiar  phrases :  "  We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident, 
that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights;  that  among  these  are 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  to  secure  these 
rights  governments  are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed." 

An  intelligent  audience  will  not  wish  to  hear  discussion  as  to 
the  import  of  these  sentences.  Their  language  is  simple,  their 
meaning  plain,  and  their  truth  undoubted.  The  equality  de 
clared  by  the  fathers  was  not  an  equality  of  beauty,  of  physical 
strength,  or  of  intellect,  but  an  equality  of  rights.  Foolish  at 
tempts  have  been  made  by  those  who  hate  the  principles  of  the 
fathers  to  destroy  the  great  fundamental  truth  of  the  Declara 
tion,  by  limiting  the  application  of  the  phrase  "  all  men  "  to  the 
men  of  a  single  race. 

But  Jefferson's  original  draft  of  the  Declaration  leaves  no 
room  to  doubt  what  he  meant  by  these  words.  The  gravest 
charge  he  made  against  the  King  of  Great  Britain  in  the  orig 
inal  draft  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  the  follow 
ing: 

"  He  has  waged  cruel  war  against  human  nature  itself,  violat 
ing  its  most  sacred  rights  of  life  and  liberty  in  the  persons  of  a 
distant  people,  who  never  offended  him,  capturing  and  carrying 
them  into  slavery  in  another  hemisphere,  or  to  incur  miserable 
death  in  their  transportation  thither.  This  piratical  warfare, 


APPENDIX.  169 


the  opprobrium  of  infidel  powers,  is  the  warfare  of  the  Christian 
King  of  Great  Britain,  determined  to  keep  open  market  where 
MEN  should  be  bought  and  sold." 

In  this  sentence  the  word  "men"  is  written  by  Jefferson  in 
capital  letters,  showing  with  what  emphasis  he  wished  to  declare 
that  the  King  of  Great  Britain  was  making  slaves  of  a  people  to 
whom  belonged  the  rights  of  men. 

Unfortunately  for  our  country,  that  King,  and  others  who 
"  waged  cruel  war  against  human  nature  itself,"  had  already  suc 
ceeded  in  planting  in  the  bosom  of  American  society  an  element 
implacably  hostile  to  human  rights,  and  destined  to  become  the 
enemy  of  the  Union,  whenever  the  American  people,  in  their 
National  capacity,  should  refuse  assent  to  any  measures  which 
the  holders  of  slaves  should  deem  necessary  or  even  important 
for  the  security  or  prosperity  of  their  "peculiar  institution." 

I  need  not,  upon  this  occasion,  repeat  what  is  now  familiar  his 
tory — how,  by  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin,  and  the  conse 
quent  enormous  increase  of  the  cotton  crop,  slave  labor  in  the 
cotton  States,  and  slave  breeding  in  the  Northern  slave  States, 
became  so  profitable  that  the  slaveholders  were  able,  for  many 
years,  largely  to  influence,  if  not  control,  every  department  of 
the  National  Government.  The  slave  power  became  something 
more  than  a  phrase — it  was  a  definite,  established,  appalling 
fact.  The  Missouri  controversy,  South  Carolina  nullification,  the 
Texas  controversy,  the  adoption  of  the  compromise  measures 
of  1850,  and  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  compromise  in  1854, 
were  all  occasions  when  the  country  was  compelled  to  see  the 
magnitude,  the  energy,  the  recklessness,  and  the  arrogance  of 
the  slave  power. 

Precisely  when  the  men  who  wielded  that  power  determined 
to  destroy  the  Union  it  is  not  now  necessary  to  inquire.  Threats 
of  disunion  were  made  in  the  first  Congress  that  assembled 
under  the  constitution.  Upon  various  pretexts  they  were  re 
peated  from  time  to  time,  and  no  one  doubts  that  slavery  was  at 
the  bottom  of  them.  In  1833  General  Jackson  wrote  to  Rev.  A. 
J.  Crawford:  "Take  care  of  your  nullifiers;  you  have  them 
among  you ;  let  them  meet  with  the  indignant  frown  of  every 
man  who  loves  his  country.  The  tariff,  it  is  now  known,  was  a 
mere  pretext,  .  .  .  and  disunion  and  a  Southern  Confed 
eracy  the  real  object.  The  next  pretext  will  be  the  negro  or 


170  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

slavery  question."  General  Jackson  was  no  doubt  right  as  to 
the  existence  of  a  settled  purpose  to  break  up  the  Union,  and 
to  establish  a  Southern  Confederacy,  as  long  ago  as  1832.  But 
why  was  there  such  a  purpose  ?  On  what  ground  did  it  stand  ? 

Great  political  parties,  whether  sectional  or  otherwise,  do  not 
come  by  accident,  nor  are  they  the  invention  of  political  in 
trigue.  A  faction  born  of  a  clique  may  have  some  strength  at 
one  or  two  elections,  but  the  wisest  political  wire-workers  can 
not,  by  merely  '•  taking  thought,"  create  a  strong  and  permanent 
party.  The  result  of  the  Philadelphia  Convention  last  summer 
probably  taught  this  truth  to  the  authors  of  that  movement. 
Great  political  movements  always  have  some  adequate  cause. 

Now,  on  what  did  the  conspirators  who  plotted  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  Union  and  the  establishment  of  a  Southern  Confed 
eracy  rely  ?  In  the  first  place,  they  taught  a  false  construction 
of  the  National  constitution,  which  was  miscalled  State  rights, 
the  essential  part  of  which  was  that  "any  State  of  the  Union 
might  secede  from  the  Union  whenever  it  liked."  This  doctrine 
was  the  instrument  employed  to  destroy  the  unity  of  the  Nation. 
The  fact  which  gave  strength  and  energy  to  those  who  employed 
this  instrument  was  that  in  the  southern  half  of  the  Union,  so 
ciety,  business,  property,  religion,  and  law  were  all  based  on  the 
proposition  that  over  four  millions  of  our  countrymen,  capable 
of  civilization  and  religion,  were,  because  of  their  race  and  color, 
"so  far  inferior  that  they  had  no  rights  which  the  white  man 
was  bound  to  respect."  The  practice,  founded  upon  this  denial 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  protected  by  law  and  sanc 
tioned  by  usage,  was  our  great  National  transgression,  and  was 
the  cause  of  our  great  National  calamity. 

In  a  country  where  discussion  was  free,  sooner  or  later,  parties 
were  sure  to  be  formed  on  the  issues  presented  by  the  slavehold 
ers.  The  supporters  of  the  Union  and  of  human  rights  would 
band  together  against  the  supporters  of  disunion  and  slavery. 
For  many  years  after  the  struggle  really  began,  the  issues  were 
not  clearly  defined,  and  neither  party  was  able  to  occupy  its  true 
and  final  position,  or  to  rally  to  its  standard  all  who  were  in  fact 
its  friends.  Old  parties  incumbered  the  ground.  Men  were 
slow  to  give  up  old  associations  and  leave  the  discussion  of  obso 
lete,  immaterial,  or  ephemeral  issues. 

At  last  the  crisis  came.     In  I860,  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  was  un- 


APPENDIX.  171 


friendly  to  slavery  and  faithful  to  the  Union,  was  elected  presi 
dent.  The  party  of  disunion  and  slavery  were  prepared  for  this 
event.  Their  action  was  prompt,  decisive,  and  defiant.  They 
proceeded  to  organize  southern  conventions,  and  formally  to 
withdraw  from  the  Union,  and  undertook  to  establish  a  new 
government  and  a  new  Nation  on  the  soil  of  the  United  States. 

Prior  to  1860  the  party  calling  itself  Democratic  had  gathered 
under  one  name  and  one  organization  almost  the  whole  of  the 
secessionists  of  the  South,  and  a  large  body  of  the  people  of  the 
North,  many  of  whom  had  no  sympathy  either  with  secession 
or  slavery.  Tn  1860  the  secessionists  were  so  arrogant  in  their 
demands  that  the  great  body  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
North  refused  to  yield  to  them,  and  supported  Mr.  Douglass  in 
opposition  both  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  to  the  disunion  and  slavery 
candidate,  Mr.  Breckinridge.  But  it  was  well  known  that  many 
leading  Democrats  who  supported  Mr.  Douglass  leaned  strongly 
toward  the  southern  Calhoun  democracy,  and  that  their  sympa 
thies  were  with  slaveholding,  or  at  least  with  slaveholders. 

The  evidence  of  this  is  abundantly  furnished  in  their  recorded 
opinions.  The  most  distinguished  and  perhaps  the  most  in 
fluential  Democrat  now  actively  engaged  in  politics  in  Ohio,  who 
presided  over  and  addressed  the  last  Democratic  State  Conven 
tion  held  at  Columbus,  Mr.  Pendleton,  delivered  a  speech  in  the 
House- of  Representatives  on  the  18th  of  January,  1861. 

You  will  recollect  how  far  the  slaveholders  had  progressed  in 
their  great  rebellion  at  that  date.  Mr.  Pendleton  himself  says : 

"  To-day,  sir,  four  States  of  this  Union  have,  so  far  as  their 
power  extends,  seceded  from  it.  Four  States,  as  far  as  they  are 
able,  have  annulled  the  grants  of  power  made  to  the  Federal 
Government;  they  have  resumed  the  powers  delegated  by  the 
Constitution ;  they  have  canceled,  so  far  as  they  could,  every 
limitation  upon  the  full  exercise  of  all  their  sovereign  rights. 
They  do  not  claim  our  protection;  they  ask  no  benefit  from  our 
laws;  they  seek  none  of  the  advantages  of  the  confederation. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  renounce  their  allegiance ;  they  repu 
diate  our  authority  over  them,  and  they  assert  that  they  have 
assumed — some  of  them  that  they  have  resumed — their  position 
among  the  family  of  sovereignties,  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  .  .  .  To-day,  even  while  I  am  speaking,  Georgia  is  vot 
ing  upon  this  very  question.  And  unless  the  signs  of  the  times 


172  LIFE    OF    RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

very  much  deceive  us,  within  three  weeks  other  States  will  be 
added  to  the  number." 

Mr.  Pendleton  might  also  hare  said  that  prior  to  that  date,  forts, 
arsenals,  dock-yards,  mints,  and  other  places  and  property  be 
longing  to  the  United  States,  had  been  seized  by  organized  and 
armed  bodies  of  rebels  ;  the  collection  of  debts  due  in  the  South 
to  Northern  creditors  had  been  stopped ;  South  Carolina  had  de 
clared  that  any  attempt  to  reinforce  Fort  Sumter  by  the  United 
States  would  be  regarded  by  that  State  as  an  act  of  hostility 
against  her  and  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  war;  the  Star  of 
the  West,  an  unarmed  vessel,  with  the  American  flag  floating  at 
her  mast-head,  carrying  provisions  to  the  famishing  garrison  of 
Fort  Sumter,  had  been  fired  on  and  driven  from  Charleston  har 
bor  ;  in  short,  at  that  date  the  rebels  were  engaged  in  actual  war 
against  the  Nation,  and  the  only  reason  why  blood  had  not  been 
shed  was  that  the  National  government  had  failed  in  its  duty  to 
defend  the  Nation's  property,  and  to  maintain  the  sacredness  of 
the  National  flag. 

At  that  crisis  Mr.  Pendleton  delivered  and  sent  forth  a  speech 
bearing  this  significant  motto  :  "  But,  sir,  armies,  money,  blood, 
can  not  maintain  this  Union — -justice,  reason,  peace,  may."  The 
speech  was  according  to  its  motto.  Accustomed  as  he  is  to  speak 
cautiously,  and  in  a  scholarly  and  moderate  way,  we  can  not  be 
mistaken  as  to  his  drift.  On  the  authority  of  the  National  gov 
ernment  he  says : 

"  Now,  sir,  what  force  of  arms  can  compel  a  State  to  do  that 
which  she  has  agreed  to  do  ?  What  force  of  arms  can  compel  a 
State  to  refrain  from  doing  that  which  her  State  government, 
supported  by  the  sentiment  of  her  people,  is  determined  to  per 
sist  in  doing.  .  .  .  Sir,  the  whole  scheme  of  coercion  is  im 
practicable.  It  is  contrary  to  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the  Con 
stitution." 

These  extracts  sufficiently  and  fairly  show  Mr.  Pendleton's  no 
tion  of  the  duty  and  authority  of  the  Nation  in  that  great  crisis. 
He  held  the  States  rights  doctrines  of  Calhoun  and  Breckin- 
ridge,  and  not  the  National  principles  of  Washington  and  Jack 
son. 

As  to  the  treatment  of  rebels  already  in  arms,  and  as  to  the 
"  demands  "  of  the  slave  power,  copsjder  this  advice  which  he 
gave  to  Congress  and  the  people : 


APPENDIX.  173 


"  If  these  Southern  States  can  not  be  conciliated;  if  you,  gen 
tlemen,  can  not  find  it  in  your  hearts  to  grant  their  demands; 
if  they  must  leave  the  family  mansion,  I  would  signalize  their 
departure  by  tokens  of  love;  I  would  bid  them  farewell  so  ten 
derly  that  they  would  be  forever  touched  by  the  recollection  of 
it;  and  if  in  the  vicissitudes  of  their  separate  existence  they 
should  desire  to  come  together  with  us  again  in  one  common 
government,  there  should  be  no  pride  to  be  humiliated,  there 
should  be  no  wound  inflicted  by  my  hand  to  be  healed.  They 
should  come  and  be  welcome  to  the  places  they  now  occupy." 

Thus  we  see  there  were  those  who,  with  honeyed  phrases  and 
soft  words,  would  have  looked  smilingly  on,  while  the  great  Re 
public — the  pride  of  her  children,  the  hope  of  the  ages — built 
by  the  fathers  at  such  an  expense  of  suffering,  of  treasure,  and 
of  blood,  was  stricken  by  traitors'  hands  from  the  roll  of  living 
Nations,  and  while  an  armed  oligarchy  should  establish  in  its 
stead  a  nation  founded  on  a  denial  of  human  rights,  and  under 
whose  sway  south  of  the  Potomac  more  than  half  of  the  terri 
tory  of  the  old  Thirteen  Colonies — soil  once  fertilized  by  the 
best  blood  of  the  Revolution — should,  for  generations  to  come, 
continue  to  be  tilled  by  the  unrequited  toil  of  slaves. 

The  best  known,  the  boldest,  and  perhaps  the  ablest  leader  of 
the  peace  Democracy  in  the  North  is  Mr.  Vallandigham.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolutions  in  the  last  Dem 
ocratic  State  Convention  in  Ohio,  and  reported  the  present  State 
platform  of  his  party.  He,  probably,  still  enjoys  in  a  greater  de 
gree  than  any  other  public  man  the  affection  and  confidence  of 
the  positive  men  of  the  Ohio  Democracy,  who,  from  beginning 
to  end,  opposed  the  war.  On  the  20th  of  February,  1861,  he  de 
livered  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in  support  of 
certain  amendments  which  he  proposed  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  In  an  appendix  to  that  speech,  he  published 
an  extract  fpom  a  card  in  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer  of  November 
J  0,  1 860,  from  which  I  quote  : 

"And  now  let  me  add  that  I  did  say,  ...  in  a  public 
fcpeech,  at  the  Cooper  Institute,  on  the  2d  of  November,  1860, 
that  if  any  one  or  more  of  the  States  of  this  Uuion  should  at 
any  time  secede,  for  reasons  of  the  sufficiency  and  justice  of 
which,  before  God  and  the  great  tribunal  of  history,  they  alone 
may  judge,  much  as  I  should  deplore  it,  I  never  would,  as  a  rep- 


174  LIFE    OF    RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


resentative  in  Congress  of  the  United  States,  vote  one  dollar  of 
money  whereby  one  drop  of  American  blood  should  be  shed  in 
a  civil  war.  .  .  .  And  I  now  deliberately  repeat  and  reaffirm 
it,  resolved,  though  I  stand  alone,  though  all  others  yield  and  fall 
away,  to  make  it  good  to  the  last  moment  of  my  public  life." 
Here  was  another  strong  man  of  large  influence  solemnly  pledged 
to  allow  the  Union  to  be  broken  up  and  destroyed,  in  case  the 
rebel  conspirators  chose  that  alternative,  rather  than  forego 
their  demands  in  favor  of  oppression  and  against  human  rights. 

On  the  23d  of  January,  1861,  the  Democratic  party  held  a 
State  Convention  at  Columbus.  Remember,  at  that  date  the  air 
was  thick  with  threats  of  war  from  the  South.  The  rebels  were 
organizing  and  drilling ;  arms  robbed  from  the  National  arsenals 
were  in  their  hands;  and  the  question  upon  all  minds  was 
whether  the  Republic  should  perish  without  having  a  single 
blow  struck  in  her  defense,  or  whether  the  people  of  the  loyal 
North  should  rise  as  one  man,  prepared  to  wage  war  until  treason 
and,  if  need  be,  slavery  went  down  together.  On  this  question, 
that  convention  was  bound  to  speak.  Silence  was  impossible. 
There  were  present  war  Democrats  and  peace  Democrats,  follow 
ers  of  Jackson,  and  followers  of  Calhoun.  There  was  a  deter 
mined  and  gallant  struggle  on  the  part  of  the  war  Democrats, 
but  the  superior  numbers,  or  more  probably  the  superior  tactics 
and  strategy,  of  the  peace' men  triumphed. 

The  present  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for  Governor 
of  Ohio,  Judge  Thurman,  a  gentleman  of  character  and  ability, 
a  distinguished  lawyer  and  judge,  and  a  politician  of  long  expe 
rience,  succeeded  in  passing  through  the  convention  this  resolu 
tion  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  two  hundred  thousand  Democrats  of  Ohio 
send  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  both  North  and  South, 
greeting ;  and  when  the  people  of  the  North  shall  have  fulfilled 
their  duties  to  the  constitution  and  to  the  South,  then,  and  not 
until  then,  will  it  be  proper  for  them  to  take  into  consideration 
the  question  of  the  right  and  propriety  of  coercion." 

In  support  of  this  famous  resolution,  Judge  Thurman  ad* 
dressed  the  convention,  and,  among  other  things,  is  reported  to 
have  said : 

"A  man  is  deficient  in  understanding  who  thinks  the  cause  of 
disunion  is  that  the  South  apprehended  any  overt  act  of  oppres- 


APPENDIX.  175 


sion  in  Lincoln's  administration.  It  is  the  spirit  of  the  late 
presidential  contest  that  alarms  the  South.  ...  It  would 
try  the  ethics  of  any  man  to  deny  that  some  of  the  Southern 
States  have  no  cause  for  revolution.  .  .  .  Then  you  must  be 
sure  you  are  able  to  coerce  before  you  begin  the  work.  The 
South  are  a  brave  people.  The  Southern  States  can  not  be  held 
by  force.  The  blacks  won't  fight  for  the  invaders.  .  .  .  The 
Hungarians  had  less  cause  of  complaint  against  Austria  than  the 
South  had  against  the  North." 

When  we  reflect  oil  what  the  rebels  had  done  and  what  they 
were  doing  when  this  resolution  was  passed,  it  seems  incredible 
that  sane  men,  having  a  spark  of  patriotism,  could  for  one  mo 
ment  have  tolerated  its  sentiments.  The  rebels  had  already  de 
prived  the  United  States  of  its  jurisdiction  and  property  in 
about  one-fourth  of  its  inhabited  territory,  and  were  rapidly  ex 
tending  their  insurrection  so  as  to  include  within  the  rebel  lines 
all  of  the  slave  States.  The  lives  and  property  of  Union  citizens 
in  the  insurgent  States  were  at  the  mercy  of  traitors,  and  the 
National  flag  was  everywhere  torn  down,  and  shameful  indigni 
ties  and  outrages  heaped  upon  all  who  honored  it. 

This  resolution  speaks  of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  the  people  of 
the  North  to  the  South.  The  first  and  highest  duty  of  the  peo 
ple  of  the  North  to  themselves,  to  the  South,  to  their  country, 
and  to  God,  was  to  crush  the  rebellion.  All  speeches  and  reso 
lutions  against  either  the  right  or  the  propriety  of  coercion 
merely  gave  encouragement,  "moral  aid  and  comfort,"  more  im 
portant  than  powder  and  ball,  to  the  enemies  of  the  Nation. 

Do  I  state  too  strongly  the  mischievous,  the  fatal  tendency  of 
these  proceedings  ?  The  resolution  adopted  by  the  peace  Demo 
cracy  of  Ohio  is  addressed  in  terms  "  to  the  people  of  all  the 
States,  North  and  South,"  and  in  fact  was  sent,  I  am  informed, 
to  the  governors  of  all  the  States. 

In  the  South,  Union  men  were  laboring  by  every  means  in 
their  power  to  prevent  secession.  Their  most  cogent  argument 
was  that  the  National  government  would  defend  itself  by  war 
against  rebellion.  To  this,  the  rebel  reply  was,  "  There  will  be 
no  war.  Secession  will  be  peaceable.  The  peace  party  of  the 
North  will  prevent  coercion.  If  there  is  fighting,  it  will  be  as 
Ex-President  Pierce  writes  to  Jefferson  Davis,  •  The  fighting  will 


176  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

not  be  along  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  merely.  It  will  be  within 
our  own  borders,  in  our  own  streets.'  " 

For  the  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  this  opinion,  the  rebels 
could  point  confidently  to  such  speeches  and  resolutions  as  those 
we  are  now  considering.  Governor  Orr,  of  South  Carolina,  in  a 
recent  speech  at  the  Charleston  Board  of  Trade  banquet,  is  re 
ported  to  have  said : 

"  I  know  there  is  an  apprehension  widespread  in  the  North  and 
West  that,  after  the  reconstruction  of  the  Southern  States,  we 
shall  fall  into  the  arms  of  our  old  allies  and  associates,  the  old 
Democratic  party.  I  say  to  you,  gentlemen,  however,  that  1 
would  give  no  such  pledges.  We  have  accounts  to  settle  with 
that  party,  gentlemen,  before  I,  at  least,  will  consent  to  affiliate 
with  it.  Many  of  you  will  remember  that,  when  the  war  first 
commenced,  great  hopes  and  expectations  were  held  out  by  our 
friends  in  the  North  and  West  that  there  would  be  no  war,  and 
that  if  it  commenced,  it  would  be  North  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line,  and  not  in  the  South." 

Without  pausing  to  inquire  how  much  strength  accrued  to  the 
rebellion  in  its  earlier  stages  by  the  encouragement  it  received 
from  sympathizers  in  the  North,  let  us  pass  on  to  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1861,  after  the  bombardment  and  surrender  of  Fort 
Sumter,  and  when  the  armies  of  the  Union  and  of  the  rebel 
lion  were  facing  each  other  upon  a  line  of  operations  extending 
from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande.  The  most  superficial  ob 
server  could  not  fail  to  discover  these  facts. 

In  the  South,  where  slavery  was  strongest,  the  rebellion  was 
strongest.  Where  there  were  few  slaveholders,  there  were  few 
rebels.  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi,  having  the  largest  num 
ber  of  slaves  in  proportion  to  population,  were  almost  unani 
mous  for  rebellion.  Western  Virginia,  Eastern  Kentucky,  East 
Tennessee,  had  few  slaves,  and  love  of  the  Union  and  hatred  of 
secession  in  those  mountain  regions  was  nearly  universal. 

The  counterpart  of  this  was  found  everywhere  in  the  North. 
In  counties  and  districts  where  the  majority  of  the  people  had 
been  accustomed  to  defend  or  excuse  the  practice  of  slaveholcl- 
ing  and  the  aggressions  of  the  slaveholders,  there  was  much 
sympathy  with  the  rebellion  and  strong  opposition  to  the  war. 
Men  who  abused  and  hated  negroes  did  not  usually  hate  rebels. 


APPENDIX.  177 


On  the  other  hand,  anti-slavery  counties  and  districts  were  quite 
sure  to  be  Union  to"  the  core. 

In  Ohio,  as  in  other  free  States,  the  Democratic  party  could 
not  be  led  off  in  a  body  after  the  peace  Democracy.  Brough, 
Tod,  Matthews,  Dorsey,  Steedman,  and  a  host  of  Democrats  of 
the  Jackson  school,  nobly  Jcept  the  faith.  Lytle,  McCook,  Web 
ster,  and  gallant  spirits  like  them,  from  every  county  and  neigh 
borhood  of  our  State,  sealed  their  devotion  to  the  Union  and 
to  true  Democracy  with  their  life's  blood. 

They  believed,  with  Douglass,  in  the  last  letter  he  ever  wrote, 
that  "it  was  not  a  party  question,  nor  a  question  involving  par 
tisan  policy ;  it  was  a  question  of  government  or  no  government, 
country  or  no  country,  and  hence  it  became  the  imperative  duty 
of  every  Union  man,  every  friend  of  constitutional  liberty,  to 
rally  to  the  support  of  our  common  country,  its  government  and 
flag,  as  the  only  means  of  checking  the  progress  of  revolution, 
and  of  preserving  the  Union  of  the  States." 

They  believed  the  words  of  Douglass'  last  speech :  "  This  is  no 
time  for  a  detail  of  causes.  The  conspiracy  is  now  known. 
Armies  have  been  raised,  war  is  levied  to  accomplish  it.  There 
are  only  two  sides  to  the  question.  Every  man  must  be  for  the 
United  States  or  against  it.  There  can  be  no  neutrals  in  this 
war — only  patriots  and  traitors." 

As  the  war  progressed,  the  great  political  parties  of  the  coun 
try  underwent  important  changes,  both  of  organization  and  pol 
icy.  In  the  North,  the  Republican  party,  the  great  body  of  the 
American  or  Union  party  of  I860,  and  the  war  Democracy  formed 
the  Union  party.  The  Democracy  of  the  South,  for  the  most 
part,  became  rebels,  and  in  the  North  those  who  did  not  unite 
with  the  Union  party  generally  passed  under  the  control  and 
leadership  of  the  peace  Democracy. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  creed  of  the  Union  party 
consisted  of  one  idea — it  labored  for  one  object — the  restoration 
of  the  Union.  Slavery,  the  rights  of  man,  the  principles  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  were  for  the  time  lost  sight  of  in 
the  struggle  for  the  Nation's  life.  As  late  as  August,  1862,  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  wrote  to  Mr.  Greeley:  "My  paramount  object  is 
to  save  the  Union,  and  not  either  to  save  or  to  destroy  slavery. 
If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any  slave,  I  would  do 
it ;  and  if  I  could  save  it  by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it ; 


178  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

and  if  I  could  do  it  by  freeing  some  and  leaving  others  alone,  I 
would  also  do  that." 

Slowly,  gradually,  after  repeated  disasters  and  disappoint 
ments,  the  eyes  of  the  Union  leaders  were  opened  to  the  fact 
that  slavery  and  rebellion  were  convertible  terms  ;  that  the  Con 
federacy,  according  to  its  Vice-President,  Alexander  IT.  Stephens, 
was  founded  upon  "  exactly  the  opposite  idea  "  from  that  of  Jof- 
ferson  and  the  fathers.  "  Its  foundations,"  said  he,  '•  are  laid,  its 
corner-stone  rests  upon  the  great  truth  that  the  negro  is  not 
equal  to  the  white  man ;  that  slavery,  subordination  to  the  supe 
rior  race,  is  his  natural  and  normal  condition."  Mr.  Lincoln 
and  the  Union  party,  struggling  faithfully  onward,  finally 
reached  the  solid  ground  that  the  American  government  was 
founded  on  the  broad  principles  of  right,  justice,  and  humanity, 
and  that,  for  this  Nation,  "Union  and  liberty"  were  indeed 
"one  and  inseparable." 

The  leaders  of  the  peace  Democracy  were  for  a  time  over 
whelmed  by  the  popular  uprising  which  followed  the  attack  on 
Fort  Sumter,  and  were  not  able  during  the  year  1861  or  the  early 
part  of  1862  to  mark  out  definitely  the  course  to  be  pursued. 
But,  like  the  Union  party,  they  gradually  approached  the  posi 
tion  they  were  ultimately  to  occupy. 

Their  success  in  the  autumn  elections  of  1862  encouraged  them 
to  enter  upon  the  pathway  in  which  they  have  plodded  along 
consistently  if  not  prosperously  ever  since.  Opposition  to  the 
war  measures  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration,  and  in  particular 
to  every  measure  tending  to  the  enfranchisement  and  elevation 
of  the  African  race,  became  their  settled  policy.  By  this  policy 
they  were  placed  in  harmony  with  their  former  associates,  the 
rebels  of  the  South.  The  rebels  were  fighting  to  destroy  the 
Union.  The  peace  party  were  opposing  the  only  measures  which 
could  save  it.  The  rebels  were  fighting  for  slavery.  The  peace 
party  were  laboring  in  their  way  to  keep  alive  and  inflame  the 
prejudice  against  race  and  color,  on  which  slavery  was  based. 

The  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  the  re 
peal  of  the  fugitive  slave  law,  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation  of 
emancipation,  in  a  word,  every  step  of  the  Union  party  toward 
enfranchisement  of  the  colored  people,  the  peace  Democracy 
opposed.  Every  war  measure,  every  means  adopted  to  strengthen 
the  cause  of  the  Union  and  weaken  the  rebellion,  met  with  the 


APPENDIX.  170 


the  same  opposition.  "Whatever  Mr.  Lincoln  or  Congress  did  to 
get  money,  to  get  men,  or  to  obtain  the  moral  support  of  the 
country  and  the  world — tax  laws,  tariff  laws,  greenbacks,  gov 
ernment  bonds,  army  bills,  drafts,  blockades,  proclamations — 
met  the  indiscriminate  and  bitter  assaults  of  these  men.  The 
enlistment  of  colored  soldiers,  a  measure  by  which  between  one 
and  two  hundred  thousand  able-bodied  men  were  transferred 
from  the  service  of  the  rebels  in  corn-fields  to  the  Union  service 
in  battle-fields — how  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the  Union  party  were  vili 
fied  for  that  wise  and  necessary  measure!  But  worse,  infinitely 
worse,  than  mere  opposition  to  war  measures,  were  their  efforts 
to  impair  the  confidence  of  the  people,  to  diminish  the  moral 
power  of  the  government,  to  give  hope  and  earnestness  to  the 
enemies  of  the  Union,  by  showing  that  the  administration  was 
to  blame  for  the  war,  that  it  was  unnecessary,  unjust,  and  that  it 
had  been  perverted  from  its  original  object,  and  that  it  could 
not  but  fail. 

I  need  not  go  beyond  the  record  of  leaders  of  the  Ohio  De 
mocracy  of  to-day  for  proof  what  1  am  saying.  Mr.  Pendleton, 
usually  so  gentlemanly  and  prudent  in  speech,  lost  his  balance 
after  the  victories  of  the  peace  Democracy  in  1862.  At  the  Dem 
ocratic  jubilee  in  Butler  county  over  the  elections,  Mr.  Pendle 
ton  is  reported  as  saying: 

"  I  came  up  to  see  if  there  were  any  Butternuts  in  Butler 
county.  I  came  to  see  if  there  were  any  Copperheads  in  Butler 
county,  as  my  friends  of  the  Cincinnati  Gazctle  and  Commercial 
are  fond  of  terming  the  Democracy  of  the  country.  I  came  up 
to  tell  you  that  there  are  a  good  many  of  that  stripe  of  animals 
in  old  Hamilton.  I  have  traveled  about  the  country  lately,  and 
I  assure  you  there  is  a  large  crop  of  Butternuts  everywhere:  not 
only  that,  but  the  quality  and  character  of  the  nut  is  quite  as 
good  as  the  quantity." 

Of  course,  Mr.  Pendleton  was  applauded  by  his  audience;  and 
he  returned  to  his  place  in  the  House  of  Representatives  at 
Washington  prepared  to  give  expression  to  his  views  with  the 
same  plainness  and  boldness  which  marked  the  utterances  of 
his  colleague,  Mr.  Vallandigham. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1863,  he  made  an  elaborate  speech 
against  the  enlistment  of  negroes  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  in  which  he  said : 


180  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

"  T  should  be  false  to  you,  my  fellow-representatives,  if  T  did 
not  tell  you  that  there  is  an  impression,  growing  with  great  ra 
pidity,  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  Northwest  that  they 
have  been  deliberately  deceived  into  this  war — that  their  patri 
otism  and  their  love  of  country  have  been  engaged  to  call  them 
into  the  army,  under  the  pretense  that  the  war  was  to  be  for  the 
Union  and  the  Constitution,  when,  in  fact,  it  was  to  be  an  armed 
crusade  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  I  tell  you,  sir,  that  unless 
this  impression  is  speedily  arrested  it  will  become  universal ;  it 
will  ripen  into  conviction,  and  then  it  will  be  beyond  your  power 
to  get  from  their  broad  plains  another  man,  or  from  their  almost 
exhausted  coffers  another  dollar." 

In  the  same  speech  he  says  : 

"  I  said  two  years  ago,  on  this  floor,  that  armies,  money,  war 
can  not  restore  this  Union;  justice,  reason,  peace,  may.  I  be 
lieved  it  then  ;  I  have  believed  it  at  every  moment  since;  I  be 
lieve  it  now.  No  event  of  the  past  two  years  has  for  a  moment 
shaken  my  faith.  Peace  is  the  first  step  to  Union.  Peace 
is  Union.  Peace  unbroken  would  have  preserved  it;  peace 
restored  will,  I  hope,  in  some  time  reconstruct  it.  The  only 
bonds  which  can  hold  these  States  in  confederation,  the  only 
ties  which  can  make  us  one  people,  are  the  soft  and  silken 
cords  of  affection  and  interest.  These  are  woven  in  peace,  not 
war ;  in  conciliation,  not  coercion ;  in  deeds  of  kindness  and  acts 
of  friendly  sympathy,  not  in  deeds  of  violence  and  blood.  The 
people  of  the  Northwest  were  carried  away  by  the  excitement 
of  April  and  May.  They  believed  war  would  restore  the  Union. 
They  trusted  to  the  assurances  of  the  president  and  his  cabinet, 
and  of  Congress,  that  it  should  be  carried  on  for  that  purpose 
alone.  They  trusted  that  it  would  be  carried  on  under  the  Con 
stitution.  They  were  patriotic  and  confiding.  They  sent  their 
sons,  and  brothers,  and  husbands  to  the  army,  and  poured  out 
their  treasures  at  the  feet  of  the  administration.  They  feel  that 
the  war  has  been  perverted  from  this  end ;  that  the  Constitution 
has  been  disregarded ;  that  abolition  and  arbitrary  power,  not 
Union  and  constitutional  liberty,  are  the  governing  ideas  of  the 
administration.  They  are  in  no  temper  to  be  trifled  with.  They 
think  they  have  been  deceived.  There  is  danger  of  revolution. 
They  are  longing  for  peace." 

Need  I  pause  to  inquire  who  would  receive  encouragement,  or 


APPENDIX.  181 


whose  spirits  would  be  depressed,  on  reading  these  remarkable 
sentences  ?  Imagine  them  read  by  the  rebel  camp-fires,  or  at  the 
firesides  of  the  rebel  people.  What  hope,  what  exultation  we 
should  behold  in  the  faces  of  those  who  heard  them  !  On  the 
other  hand,  at  Union  camp-fires,  or  by  the  loyal  fire-sides  of  the 
North,  what  sorrow,  what  mortification,  what  depression  such 
statements  would  surely  carry  wherever  they  were  heard  and 
believed ! 

The  course  of  the  peace  Democracy  of  Ohio  during  the  mem 
orable  contest  of  1863,  between  Brough  and  Vallandigham,  is  too 
well  known  to  require  attention  now.  Judge  Thurman  was  one 
of  the  committee  who  constructed  the  platform  of  the  conven 
tion  which  nominated  Mr.  Vallandigham,  and  was  the  ablest 
member  of  the  State  Central  Committee  which  had  charge  of 
the  canvass  in  his  behalf  during  his  exile. 

The  key-note  to  that  canvass  was  given  by  Mr.  Vallandigham 
himself  in  a  letter  written  from  Canada,  July  15,  1863.  That 
letter  contained  the  following  : 

"  If  this  civil  war  is  to  terminate  only  by  the  subjugation  or 
submission  of  the  South  to  force  and  arms,  the  infant  of  to-day 
will  not  live  to  see  the  end  of  it.  No,  in  another  way  only  can 
it  be  brought  to  a  close.  Traveling  a  thousand  miles  and  more, 
through  nearly  half  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  sojourning 
for  a  time  at  widely  different  points,  I  met  not  one  man,  woman, 
or  child,  who  was  not  resolved  to  perish  rather  than  yield  to  the 
pressure  of  arms,  even  in  the  most  desperate  extremity.  And 
whatever  may  and  must  be  the  varying  fortune  of  the  war,  in 
all  which  I  recognize  the  hand  of  Providence  pointing  visibly  to 
the  ultimate  issue  of  this  great  trial  of  the  States  and  people 
of  America,  they  are  better  prepared  now  every  way  to  make 
good  their  inexorable  purpose  than  at  any  period  since  the  be 
ginning  of  the  struggle.  These  may  be  unwelcome  truths ;  but 
they  are  addressed  only  to  candid  and  honest  men." 

The  assumption  of  the  certain  success  of  the  rebellion,  and 
that  the  war  for  the  Union  would  assuredly  fail,  was  the  strong 
point  of  these  gentlemen  in  favor  of  the  election  of  Vallandig 
ham  and  the  defeat  of  Brough.  Fortunately,  the  patriotic  peo 
ple  saw  the  situation  from  another  standpoint,  and  under  the 
influence  of  different  feelings  and  different  sympathies. 

In  the  elections  of  1863,  the  peace  Democracy  of  Ohio  and 


182  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

other  States  sustained  defeats  which  have  no  parallel  in  our  po 
litical  history.  But,  notwithstanding  their  reverses,  the  year 
1864,  the  year  of  the  presidential  election,  found  the  Ohio  lead 
ers  possibly  sadder,  but  certainly  not  wiser  nor  more  patriotic 
than  before. 

At  the  National  Convention  at  Chicago,  in  August,  Mr.  Pen- 
dleton  was  nominated  for  vice-president,  Judge  Thurman  was  a 
delegate  of  the  State  of  Ohio  at  large,  and  Mr.  Vallandigham  as 
a  district  delegate,  and  as  a  member  of  the  commitete  on  plat 
form,  was  the  author  of  the  following  resolution  adopted  by  the 
convention  : 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  does  explicitly  declare,  as  the 
sense  of  the  American  people,  that,  after  four  years  of  failure  to 
restore  the  Union  by  the  experiment  of  war,  during  which, 
under  pretense  of  military  necessity,  or  war  power  higher  than 
the  constitution,  the  constitution  has  been  disregarded  in  every 
part,  and  public  liberty  and  private  rights  have  been  alike  trod 
den  down,  and  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country  essentially 
impaired,  justice,  humanity,  liberty,  and  the  public  welfare 
demand  that  immediate  efforts  be  made  for  a  cessation  of  hos 
tilities,  with  a  view  to  an  ultimate  convention  of  all  the  States, 
or  other  peaceable  means,  to  the  end  that  at  the  earliest  practi 
cable  moment  peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of  the  Fed 
eral  Union  of  the  States." 

This  resolution  does  not  seem  to  require  explanation  or  com 
ment.  But  as  General  McClellan's  letter  accepting  the  nomina 
tion  for  president  did  not  square  well  with  this  part  of  the  party 
platform,  Mr.  Vallandigham,  in  a  speech  at  Sidney,  Ohio,  Sep 
tember  24,  1864,  explained  it  at  some  length.  In  that  speech, 
he  said : 

"  I  am  speaking  now  of  the  fact  that  this  convention  pro 
nounced  this  war  a  failure,  and  giving  you  the  reasons  why  it  is 
a  failure.  .  .  .  What  has  been  gained  by  this  campaign? 
More  lives  have  been  lost,  more  hard  fighting  has  been  done, 
more  courage  has  been  exhibited  by  the  Federal  as  well  as  the 
Southern  soldiers  than  in  any  former  campaign,  and  what  has 
been  accomplished  ?  General  Grant  is  nearer  to  Richmond,  oc 
cupying  a  territory  of  perhaps  eleven  miles,  which  was  not  in 
the  possession  of  the  United  States  when  the  campaign  began^ 
from  City  Point  to  the  suburbs  of  Petersburg.  To  secure  that 


APPENDIX.  1 83 


he  gave  up  all  the  country  from  Manassas  down  to  Richmond  and 
a  large  part  of  the  valley.  .  .  .  How  about  the  Southern 
campaign  ?  General  Sherman,  through  the  courage  of  the  best 
disciplined,  best  organized,  and  most  powerful  army  that  has 
been  seen  since  the  campaigns  of  the  first  Napoleon,  has  taken 
Atlanta — a  town  somewhat  larger  than  Sidney.  It  has  cost  him 
sixty  thousand  men  and  four  or  five  months  of  the  most  terrible 
campaign  ever  waged  on  this  continent  or  any  other,  or  any 
other  part  of  the  globe.  He  occupies  from  two  to  five  miles  on 
each  side  of  a  railroad  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles  in 
length.  He  has  penetrated  that  far  into  Georgia.  What  has 
been  surrendered  to  obtain  that  ?  All  of  Texas,  nearly  all  of 
Louisiana,  nearly  all  of  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  and  a 
part  of  Tennessee,  which  were  in  possession  of  the  Federals 
on  the  first  of  May.  Kentucky  has  been  opened  to  continual 
incursions  of  the  Confederate  armies.  All  this  has  been  surrend 
ered  in  order  to  gain  this  barren  strip  of  country  on  the  line  of 
the  railroad.  The  war,  then,  has  been  properly  pronounced  a 
failure  in  a  military  point  of  view.  The  convention  meant  that 
it  has  failed  to  restore  the  Union,  and  there  is  not  a  Republican 
in  the  land  who  does  not  know  it." 

In  the  Sydney  speech.  Mr.  Vallandigham  says,  also: 
"  What  will  you  have  now  ?  Four  years  more  of  war  ?  What 
guaranties  of  success  have  you  ?  Do  you  want  two  million  more 
of  men  to  go  forth  to  this  war  as  the  Crusaders  went  to  the  sepul- 
cher  at  Jerusalem  ?  The  beginning  of  this  administration 
found  us  with  very  little  debt,  comparatively  no  taxation,  and 
peace  and  happiness  among  the  States ;  and  now  look  at  the 
scene  !  Four  more  years  of  war,  do  you  tell  me,  when  the  first 
four,  with  every  advantage,  has  failed  ?  Now,  too,  that  the  hearts 
of  one-half  of  the  people  are  turned  away  from  war,  and  intent 
upon  the  arts  of  peace  ?  What  will  be  the  consequence  ?  Four 
thousand  millions  more  of  debt,  five  hundred  millions  more  of 
taxation,  more  conscriptions,  more  calls  for  five  hundred  thou 
sand  men,  more  sacrifices  for  the  next  four  years.  All  this  is 
what  Abraham  Lincoln  demands  of  you  in  order  that  the  South 
may  be  compelled  not  to  return  to  the  Union,  but  to  abandon 
slavery." 

All  this  logic,  this  eloquence,  this  taxing  the  imagination  to 
portray  the  horrors  of  war,  failed  to  deceive  the  people;  Lincoln 


184  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

was  re-elected ;  the  war  went  on,  and  a  few  short  months  wit 
nessed  the  end  of  the  armed  rebellion,  and  the  triumph  of  lib 
erty  and  of  Union. 

Now  came  the  work  of  reconstruction.  The  leaders  of  the 
Peace  Democracy,  who  had  failed  in  every  measure,  in  every 
plan,  in  every  opinion,  and  in  every  prediction  relating  to  the 
war,  were  promptly  on  hand,  and  with  unblushing  cheek  were 
prepared  to  take  exclusive  charge  of  the  whole  business  of  re 
organization  and  reconstruction.  They  had  a  plan  all  prepared 
— a  plan  easily  understood,  easily  executed,  and  which  they 
averred  would  be  satisfactory  to  all  parties.  Their  plan  was  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  conduct  and  history  of  its  authors 
and  friends  during  the  war.  They  had  been  in  very  close  sym 
pathy  with  the  men  engaged  in  the  rebellion,  while  their  sym 
pathy  for  loyal  white  people  at  the  South  was  not  strong,  and 
they  were  bitterly  hostile  to  loyal  colored  people  both  North 
and  South.  Their  plan  was  consistent  with  all  this. 

According  to  it,  the  rebels  were  to  be  treated  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  they  had  remained  loyal.  All  laws,  State  and  Na 
tional,  all  orders  and  regulations  of  the  military,  naval,  and 
other  departments  of  the  government,  creating  disabilities  on 
account  of  participation  in  the  rebellion,  were  to  be  repealed, 
revoked,  or  abolished.  The  rebellious  States  were  to  be  repre 
sented  in  Congress  by  the  rebels  without  hindrance  from  any 
test  oath.  All  appointments  in  the  army,  in  the  navy,  and  in 
the  civil  service,  were  to  be  made  from  men  who  were  rebels, 
on  the  same  terms  as  from  men  who  were  loyal.  The  people 
and  governments  in  the  rebellious  States  were  to  be  subjected  to 
no  other  interference  or  control  from  the  military  or  other  de 
partments  of  the  general  government  than  exists  in  the  States 
which  remained  loyal.  Loyal  white  men  and  loyal  colored  men 
were  to  be  protected  alone  in  those  States  by  State  laws,  executed 
by  State  authorities,  as  if  they  were  in  the  loyal  States. 

There  were  to  be  no  amendments  to  the  constitution,  not  even 
an  amendment  abolishing  slavery.  In  short,  the  great  rebellion 
was  to  be  ignored  or  forgotten,  or,  in  the  words  of  one  of  their 
orators,  "to  be  generously  forgiven."  JThe  war,  whose  burdens, 
cost,  and  carriage  they  had  been  so  fond  of  exaggerating,  sud 
denly  sank  into  what  the  Rev.  Petroleum  V.  Nasby  calls  "  the 
late  unpleasantness,"  for  which  nobody  but  the  abolitionists 


APPENDIX.  185 


were  to  blame.  Under  this  plan  the  States  could  soon  re-estab 
lish  slavery  where  it  had  been  disturbed  by  the  war.  Jefferson 
Davis,  Toombs,  Slidell,  and  Mason  could  be  re-elected  to  their 
old  places  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States ;  Lee  could  be  re- 
appointed  in  the  army,  and  Semmes  and  Maury  could  be  restored 
to  the  navy.  Of  course  this  plan  of  the  Peace  Democracy  was 
acceptable  to  the  rebels  of  the  South. 

But  the  loyal  people,  who  under  the  name  of  the  Union  party 
fought  successfully  through  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  objected  to 
this  plan  as  wrong  in  principle,  wrong  in  its  details,  and  fatally 
wrong  as  an  example  for  the  future.  It  treats  treason  as  no 
crime  and  loyalty  as  no  virtue ;  it  contains  no  guarantees,  irre 
versible  or  otherwise,  against  another  rebellion  by  the  Fame  par 
ties  and  on  the  same  grounds.  It  restores  to  political  honor  and 
power  in  the  government  of  the  Nation  men  who  have  spent  the 
best  part  of  their  lives  in  plotting  the  overthrow  of  that  govern 
ment,  and  who  for  more  than  four  years  levied  public  war  against 
the  United  States;  it  allows  Union  men  in  the  South,  who  have 
risked  all — and  many  of  whom  have  lost  all  but  life  in  uphold 
ing  the  Union  cause — to  be  excluded  from  every  office,  State  and 
National,  and  in  many  instances  to  be  banished  from  the  States 
they  so  faithfully  labored  to  save;  it  abandons  the  four  millions 
of  colored  people  to  such  treatment  as  the  ruffian  class  of  the 
South,  educated  in  the  barbarism  of  slavery  and  the  atrocities 
of  the  rebellion,  may  choose  to  give  them;  it  leaves  the  obliga 
tions  of  the  Nation  to  her  creditors  and  to  the  maimed  soldiers 
and  to  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  war,  to  be  fulfilled  by  men 
who  hate  the  cause  in  which  those  obligations  were  incurred; 
it  claims  to  be  a  plan  which  restores  the  Union  without  requir 
ing  conditions ;  but,  in  conceding  to  the  conquered  rebels  the 
repeal  of  laws  important  to  the  Nation's  welfare,  it  grants  con 
ditions  which  they  demand,  while  it  denies  to  the  loyal  victors 
conditions  which  they  deem  of  priceless  value. 

In  the  meantime,  President  Johnson  having  declared  that 
"  the  rebellion,  in  its  revolutionary  progress,  had  deprived  the 
people  of  the  rebel  States  of  all  civil  government,"  proceeded  by 
military  power  to  set  up  provisional  State  governments  in  those 
States,  and  to  require  them  to  declare  void  all  ordinances  of  se 
cession,  to  repudiate  the  rebel  debt,  and  to  adopt  the  thirteenth 
amendment  of  the  constitution,  proposed  by  the  Union  party, 


186  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B,    HAYES. 

abolishing  slavery  throughout  the  United  States.  The  Peace 
Democracy  opposed  all  conditions,  and,  instinctively  unsound 
upon  human  rights,  opposed  the  amendment  abolishing  slavery. 
The  elections  of  1865  settled  that  question  against  them,  and  de 
prived  them  of  New  Jersey,  the  last  free  State  which  adhered  to 
their  fallen  fortunes. 

At  the  session  of  Congress  of  1865-66,  the  president,  finding 
that  his  co-called  State  governments  in  the  rebel  States — created 
by  military  power  alone  and  without  the  sanction  of  the  legis 
lative  power  of  the  government — had  accepted  his  conditions; 
insisted  that  those  States  were  fully  restored  to  their  former 
proper  relations  with  the  general  government,  and  that  they 
were  again  entitled  to  representation  in  the  same  manner  with 
the  loyal  States.  This  plan  accorded  with  the  wishes  of  all  un 
repentant  rebels,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  received  the  support 
of  their  allies  of  the  Peace  Democracy. 

The  Union  party,  at  the  sacrifice  of  all  of  the  power  and  pa 
tronage  of  the  administration  they  had  elected,  firmly  opposed 
and  finally  defeated  this  project.  They  required,  before  the 
complete  restoration  of  the  rebel  States,  that  the  fourteenth 
amendment  of  the  constitution  should  be  adopted,  which  was 
framed  to  secure  civil  rights  to  the  colored  people,  equal  repre 
sentation  between  the  free  States  and  the  former  slave  States. 
the  disqualification  for  office  of  leading  rebels,  the  payment  of 
the  loyal  obligations  to  creditors,  to  maimed  soldiers,  and  to 
widows  and  orphans,  and  the  repudiation  of  the  rebel  debt,  and 
of  claims  to  payment  for  slaves.  On  the  adoption  of  this  amend 
ment  turned  the  elections  of  1866.  After  the  amplest  debates 
before  the  people  the  Union  party  carried  the  country  in  favor 
of  the  amendment,  electing  more  than  three-fourths  of  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  They  also  secured 
the  adoption  of  the  amendment  in  twenty-one  out  of  the  twenty- 
four  States  now  represented,  which  have  acted  upon  it  by  an 
average  vote  in  the  State  legislature  of  more  than  four  to  one. 

In  striking  contrast  with  this  was  the  action  of  the  rebel 
States.  Tennessee  alone  ratified  the  amendment.  The  other 
ten  promptly  and  defiantly  rejected  it  by  an  average  majority  in 
their  State  legislatures  of  more  than  fifty  to  one.  When,  there 
fore,  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress  met  in  the  session  of  1866-67 


APPENDIX.  187 


they  found  the  work  of  reconstruction  in  those  ten  States  still 
unaccomplished. 

Now,  in  what  condition  were  those  ten  rebel  States  ?  In  the 
first  place  all  political  power  in  those  States  was  in  the  hands  of 
rebels,  and  for  the  most  part  of  leading  and  unrepentant  rebels. 
Their  governors,  their  members  of  legislature,  their  judges, 
their  county  and  city  officers,  and  their  members  of  Congress, 
with  rare  exceptions,  were  rebels.  Such  was  their  political  con 
dition. 

What  was  their  condition  with  respect  to  the  preservation  of 
order,  the  suppression  of  crime,  and  the  redress  of  private 
grievances  ?  After  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion  the  next 
plain  duty  of  the  National  government  was  to  see  that  the  lives, 
liberty,  and  property  of  all  classes  of  citizens  were  secure,  and 
especially  to  see  that  the  loyal  white  and  colored  citizens  who 
resided  or  might  sojourn  in  those  States  did  not  suffer  injustice, 
oppression,  or  outrage  because  of  their  loyalty.  Loyal  men, 
without  distinction  of  race  or  color,  were  clearly  entitled  to 
the  full  measure  of  protection  usually  found  in  civilized  coun 
tries,  if  in  the  nature  of  things  it  was  possible  for  the  Nation  to 
furnish  it. 

Inquiring  as  to  the  condition  of  things  in  the  South,  I  waive 
the  uniform  current  of  information  derived  from  the  press  and 
other  unofficial  sources  from  all  parts  of  the  South,  and  rely  ex 
clusively  on  the  official  reports  of  army  officers  like  Grant, 
Thomas,  Sheridan,  and  Howard — officers  of  clear  heads,  of 
strong  sense,  and  of  spotless  integrity,  whose  business  it  is  to 
know  the  facts,  and  who  all  united  in  warning  the  Nation  that 
Union  men,  either  white  or  colored,  were  not  safe  in  the  South. 

General  Grant  says  that  the  class  at  the  South  who  "will  ac 
knowledge  no  law  but  force"  is  sufficiently  formidable  to  justify 
the  military  occupation  of  that  territory. 

General  Sheridan,  in  an  official  report,  says  the  "  trial  of  a 
white  man  for  the  murder  of  a  freedman  in  Texas  would  be  a 
farce;  and,  in  making  this  statement,  I  make  it  because  truth 
compels  me,  and  for  no  other  reason.  .  .  .  Over  the  killing 
of  many  freedmen  nothing  is  done."  General  Sheridan  cites 
cases  in  which  our  National  soldiers  wearing  the  uniform  of  the 
Republic  have  been  deliberately  shot  "without  provocation"  by 
citizens,  and  the  grand  jury  refused  to  find  a  bill  against  the 


188  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

murderers.  Even  in  Virginia,  General  Schofield  was  compelled 
to  resort  to  a  military  tribunal  because  "a  gentleman"  who  shot 
a  negro  dead  in  cold  blood  "  was  instantly  acquitted  by  one  of 
the  civil  courts." 

General  Ord  reports  in  Arkansas  fifty-two  murders  of  freed 
persons  by  white  men  in  the  past  three  or  four  months,  and  r<o 
reports  have,  been  received  that  the  murderers  have  been  imprisoned  or 
punished.  .  .  .  The  number  of  murders  reported  is  not  half 
the  number  committed." 

General  Sickles  says  that  in  South  Carolina,  "  in  certain  coun 
ties,  such  as  Newberry,  Edgecombe,  and  Laurens,  so  much  coun 
tenance  was  given  to  outrages  on  freedmen  by  the  indifference 
of  the  civil  authorities  and  by  the  population,  who  made  them 
selves  accomplices  in  the  crimes,  that  other  measures  became 
necessary." 

In  Mississippi,  General  Thomas  calls  attention  to  the  legisla 
tion  in  regard  to  colored  people.  "  It  is  oppressive,  unjust,  and 
unconstitutional."  The  laws  as  to  buying  real  estate,  bearing 
arms,  making  contracts,  and  the  like,  are  of  such  a  character 
"  that  the  constitutional  gift  of  freedom  is  not  much  more  than 
a  name." 

General  Sheridan,  speaking  of  Louisiana,  says :  "  Homicides 
are  frequent  in  some  localities.  Sometimes  they  are  investi 
gated  by  a  coroner's  jury,  which  justifies  the  act  and  releases 
the  perpetrator ;  in  other  cases,  .  .  .  the  parties  are  held  to 
bail  in  a  nominal  sum  ;  but  the  trial  of  a  white  man  for  the  kill 
ing  of  a  freedman  can,  in  the  existing  state  of  society  in  this 
State,  be  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  farce." 

General  Thomas,  in  February  last,  in  relation  to  the  display  of 
the  rebel  flag  in  Rome,  Georgia,  said  :  "  The  sole  cause  of  this  and 
similar  offenses  lies  in  the  fact  that  certain  citizens  of  Home, 
and  a  portion  of  the  people  of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion,  do 
not  and  have  not  accepted  the  situation,  and  that  is  that  the  lute 
civil  war  was  a  rebellion,  and  history  will  so  record  it.  ... 
Everywhere  in  the  States  lately  in  rebellion  treason  is  respecta 
ble  and  loyalty  odious.  This  the  people  of  the  United  States 
who  ended  the  rebellion  and  saved  the  country  will  not  permit; 
and  all  attempts  to  maintain  this  unnatural  order  of  things  will 
be  met  by  decided  disapproval." 

Upon  these  official  reports,  showing  not  merely  that  atrocious 


APPENDIX.  189 


crimes  were  everywhere  committed  against  loyal  people,  but 
that  the  civil  authorities  did  not  even  attempt  to  prevent  them 
by  the  punishment  of  the  perpetrators,  it  became  the  plain  duty 
of  Congress  to  adopt  measures  "to  enforce  peace  and  good  order 
in  the  rebel  States,  until  loyal  and  Republican  State  govern 
ments  could  be  legally  established."  How  well  this  duty  was 
performed  will  appear  from  a  brief  examination  of  the  recon 
struction  acts  which  were  passed  by  Congress  in  March  last,  and 
by  the  auspicious  results  which  followed  their  adoption  and  exe 
cution. 

By  these  acts,  the  ten  rebel  States  were  divided  into  five  mili 
tary  districts,  subject  to  the  military  authority  of  the  United 
States;  arid  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  president  to  assign 
military  officers,  not  below  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  to  com 
mand  each  of  said  districts,  and  to  detail  a  sufficient  military 
force  to  enable  such  officers  to  perform  their  duties.  The  duties 
of  military  commanders  were  defined  as  follows,  in  the  3d  sec 
tion  of  the  act : 

"  SEC.  3.  And  be  it  farther  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
each  officer  assigned  as  aforesaid,  to  protect  all  persons  in  their 
rights  of  person  and  property,  to  suppress  insurrection,  disorder, 
and  violence,  and  to  punish,  or  cause  to  be  punished,  all  dis 
turbers  of  the  public  peace  and  criminals ;  and  to  this  end  he 
may  allow  local  civil  tribunals  to  take  jurisdiction  of  and  to  try 
offenders;  or  when,  in  his  judgment,  it  may  be  necessary  for  the 
trial  of  offenders,  he  shall  have  power  to  organize  military  com 
missions  or  tribunals  for  that  purpose;  and  all  interference, 
under  color  of  State  authority,  with  the  exercise  of  military  au 
thority  under  this  act  shall  be  null  and  void.' 

The  act  also  sets  forth  the  manner  in  which  the  people  of  any 
one  of  the  rebel  States  could  form  a  State  constitution,  and  the 
terms  on  which  the  State  would  be  fully  restored  to  proper  rela 
tions  with  the  Union.  The  most  important  provisions  are  those 
relating  to  the  qualifications  of  voters,  and  the  one  requiring 
the  adoption  of  the  amendment  to  the  constitution  proposed  by 
the  Thirty-ninth  Congress,  known  as  article  fourteen.  The  right 
of  suffrage  is  given  to  all  men  of  suitable  age  and  residence, 
without  distinction  of  race  or  color,  except  a  limited  number 
who  are  excluded  for  participation  in  the  rebellion. 

In  pursuance  of  these  acts,  the  district  of  Louisiana  and  Texas 


190  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFOKD   B.    HAYES. 


was  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Sheridan ;  Arkansas 
and  Mississippi  under  General  Ord;  Alabama,  Georgia,  and 
Florida  under  General  Pope;  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina 
under  General  Sickles;  and  Virginia  under  General  Schoneld. 
The  merits  of  this  plan  are  obvious. 

1.  It  places  the  rebels  again  under  the  control  of  the  power 
which  conquered  them,  and  of  the  very  officers  to  whom  they 
surrendered. 

2.  It  is  well  calculated  to  afford  protection  to  all  loyal  people, 
white  or  colored,  against  those  who  would  oppress  or  injure  them 
on  account  of  their  loyalty. 

3.  It  places  the  new  State  governments  of  the  South  upon  the 
solid  basis  of  justice  and  equal  rights. 

This  plan  received  in  Congress  the  support  of  many  members 
of  Congress  who  did  not  uniformly  vote  with  the  Union  party, 
and  was  acceptable  to  some  of  its  most  distinguished  adversa 
ries.  In  the  Senate,  Reverdy  Johnson,  a  Maryland  Democrat, 
voted  for  it,  and  made  effective  speeches  in  its  support.  The 
loyal  press  of  the  North,  without  exception,  upheld  it. 

In  the  South,  its  success  was  everywhere  gratifying  and  unex 
ampled.  Its  enemies  had  said  that  it  would  organize  anarchy  in 
the  rebel  States — that  it  would  immediately  inaugurate  a  war  of 
races  between  whites  and  blacks — and  compared  the  condition 
of  the  South  under  it  to  the  condition  of  India  under  English 
oppression,  and  to  Hungary  under  the  despotism  of  Austria. 

But  the  course  of  the  public  press,  and  the  conduct,  the  let 
ters,  and  speeches  of  public  men  in  the  rebel  States,  vindicated 
the  wisdom  and  justice  of  the  measure.  I  will  quote  only  from 
rebel  sources. 

In  Virginia,  the  Charlottesville  Chronicle  addressed  its  readers 
as  follows : 

11  FOR  WHITE  FOLKS  AND  COLORED  FOLKS. — Every  colored  person 
may  now  go  where  and  when  he  pleases.  He  is  a  free  nian  and 
a  full  citizen.  This  is  not  all ;  by  another  bound  they  have  be 
come  voters.  They  will  take  part  in  the  government  of  the 
country.  No  people  was  ever  so  suddenly,  so  rapidly  lifted  up. 

"  Shall  we  all  live  happily  together,  or  shall  we  hate  each  other, 
and  quarrel  and  bear  malice  ? 

"  Let  us  all  try  and  get  on  together.  Tho  land  is  big  enough. 
Let  the  whites  accommodate  themselves  to  the  new  state  of 


APPENDIX.  191 


things.  Let  them  be  polite  and  kind  to  all,  and  be  always  ready 
to  accord  to  every  man,  whether  white  or  colored,  his  full  rights. 
We  make  bold  to  say  that  the  behavior  of  the  colored  people  of 
this  State,  since  they  were  set  free,  has  surprised  all  fair-minded 
white  people.  We  do  not  believe  the  white  people,  under  the 
same  circumstances,  would  have  behaved  so  well  by  twenty  per 
cent.  They  have  shown  the  greatest  moderation.  They  have 
passed  from  plantation  hands  to  freedom  and  the  ballot  without 
outward  excitement." 

The  Richmond  Examiner,  the  organ  of  the  fire-eaters,  says  of 
the  colored  people: 

"This  class  of  our  population,  as  a  general  thing,  manifest  a 
disposition  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  altered  political  condi 
tion  in  which  the  events  of  the  past  two  years  have  placed  them. 
The  sudden  abolition  of  slavery  did  not,  as  most  persons  ex 
pected,  turn  their  heads.  They  have  been,  in  the  main,  orderly 
and  well  behaved.  They  have  not  presumed  upon  their  newly- 
acquired  freedom  to  commit  breaches  of  the  peace  or  to  be  guilty 
of  any  acts  calculated  to  sow  dissension  between  the  two  races. 
The  utmost  good  feeling  is  felt  by  the  white  people  of  this  city 
toward  the  negroes.  There  is  not  one  particle  of  bitterness  felt 
for  them." 

In  South  Carolina,  Wade  Hampton  addressed  a  mixed  assem 
bly  of  whites  and  colored  people  at  Columbia,  in  which  he  quoted 
from  a  former  speech  to  his  old  soldiers : 

"  There  is  one  other  point  on  which  there  should  be  no  mis 
understanding  as  to  our  position — no  loop  on  which  to  hang  a 
possible  misconstruction  as  to  our  views — and  that  is  the  aboli 
tion  of  slavery.  The  deed  has  been  done,  and  I,  for  one,  do 
honestly  declare  that  I  never  wish  to  see  it  revoked.  Nor  do  I 
believe  that  the  people  of  the  South  would  now  remand  the 
negro  to  slavery,  if  they  had  the  power  to  do  so  unquestioned. 

"Under  our  paternal  care,  from  a  mere  handful,  he  grew  to  be 
a  mighty  host.  He  came  to  us  a  heathen;  we  made  him  a 
Christian.  Idle,  vicious,  savage  in  his  own  country,  in  ours  he 
became  industrious,  gentle,  civilized.  As  a  slave,  he  was  faithful 
to  us;  as  a  freeman,  let  us  treat  him  as  a  friend.  Deal  with  him 
frankly,  justly,  kindly,  and,  my  word  for  it,  he  will  reciprocate 
your  kindness.  If  you  wish  so  see  him  contented,  industrious, 
useful,  aid  him  in  his  efforts  to  elevate  himself  in  the  scale  of 


192  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


civilization,  and  thus  fit  him  not  only  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
freedom,  but  to  appreciate  his  duties." 

After  stating  the  provisions  of  the  "  military  bill,"  as  he  calls 
the  reconstruction  law,  he  said  to  the  colored  people : 

"But  suppose  the  bill  is  pronounced  unconstitutional;  how 
then?  I  tell  you  what  I  am  willing  to  see  done.  I  am  willing 
to  give  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  who  can  read  and  who  pay  a 
certain  amount  of  taxes ;  and  T  agree  that  this  qualification  shall 
bear  on  white  and  black  alike.  You  would  have  no  right  to 
complain  of  a  law  which  would  put.  you  on  a  perfect  political 
equality  with  the  whites,  and  which  would  put  within  your  reach 
and  that  of  your  children  the  privilege  enjoyed  by  any  class  of 
citizens." 

In  Georgia,  the  prevailing  sentiment  is  indicated  by  the  fol 
lowing.  The  Atlanta  New  Era  says  : 

"  We  freely  accept  the  Sherman  platform  as  the  only  means 
whereby  to  rescue  the  country  from  total  destruction,  and  if  we 
mistake  not,  our  backbone  will  prove  sufficiently  strong  to  ena 
ble  us  to  look  the  issue  full  in  the  face,  without  a  shudder.  It 
is  our  bounden  duty,  and  that  of  every  other  patriot  and  well- 
wisher  of  the  South,  to  at  once  signify  an  unconditional  accep 
tance  of  the  measures  perfected  by  Congress  for  our  restoration 
to  the  Union,  and  heartily  co-operate  with  the  United  States  au 
thorities  in  securing  that  most  desirable  end." 

The  Augusta  Press,  alluding  to  the  recent  meeting  of  negroes 
at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  and  the  fact  that  speeches  were  made  by  Gen 
eral  Wade  Hampton  and  others,  states  that — 

"All  good  citizens  all  over  the  South  entertain  precisely  the 
same  kind  feelings  for  the  colored  people  that  were  exhibited 
by  these  eminent  Carolinians,  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  these 
sentiments  are  not  more  widely  manifested  in  meetings  for  pub 
lic  counsel  with  them.  '  Representative  men'  in  every  commu 
nity  should  be  prompt  and  earnest  in  signifying  their  wish  to 
co-operate  with  the  colored  people  in  the  administration  of  the 
laws  and  the  preservation  of  harmony  and  good  will.  To  this 
end,  we  deem  it  our  duty  to  urge  that  in  every  community  pub 
lic  meetings  be  held,  in  which  the  two  races  may  take  friendly 
counsel  together." 

In  Florida,  Hon.  R.  S.  Mallory,  a  former  Democratic  United 


APPENDIX.  193 


States  Senator,  is  reported  to  have  said,  at  a  large  meeting  com 
posed  of  whites  and  blacks,  in  Pensacola,  that — 

"The  recent  legislation  of  Congress  ought  to  be  submitted  to 
in  good  faith;  that,  as  the  negro  was  now  entitled  to  vote,  it  was 
the  interest  of  the  State  that  he  should  be  educated  and  en 
lightened,  and  made  to  comprehend  the  priceless  value  of  the 
ballot,  and  the  importance  to  himself  and  to  the  State  of  its  ju 
dicious  use. 

"  Let  us  fully  and  frankly  acknowledge,  as  well  by  deeds  as  by 
words,  their  equality  with  us,  before  the  law,  and  regard  it  as 
no  less  just  to  ourselves  and  them  than  to  our  State  and  her 
best  interests  to  aid  in  their  education,  elevation,  and  enjoyment 
of  all  the  rights  which  follow  their  new  condition." 

Governor  Patton,  of  Alabama,  says: 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  the  true  feeling  of  the  Southern 
people  to  contribute  their  best  influence  in  favor  of  an  early  or 
ganization  of  their  respective  States,  in  accordance  with  the  re 
quirements  of  the  recent  reconstruction  act.  Congress  claims 
the  right  to  control  this  whole  question.  In  my  humble  judg 
ment,  it  is  unwise  to  contend  longer  against  its  power,  or  to  strug 
gle  further  against  its  repeatedly  expressed  will. 

"The  freedmen  are  now  to  vote  the  first  time.  We  should 
cherish  against  them  no  ill-feeling.  The  elective  franchise  is 
conferred  upon  them ;  let  them  exercise  it  freely,  and  in  their 
own  way.  No  effort  should  be  made  to  control  their  votes,  ex 
cept  such  as  may  tend  to  enable  them  to  vote  intelligently,  and 
such  as  may  be  necessary  to  protect  them  against  mischievous  in 
fluences  to  which,  from  their  want  of  intelligence,  they  may  pos 
sibly  be  subjected.  Above  all  things,  we  should  discourage  every 
thing  which  may  tend  to  generate  antagonism  between  white 
and  colored  voters.'1 

In  Mississippi,  Albert  G.  Brown,  a  former  Democratic  United 
States  Senator,  and  a  rebel,  says : 

"  To  those  who  think  it  most  becoming  men  in  my  situation  to 
keep  quiet,  1  am  free  to  say  '  that  is  very  much  my  own  opinion.' 

"As  I  speak  reluctantly,  you  will  not  be  surprised  if  I  say  as 
little  as  possible. 

"  The  negro  is  a  fixture  in  this  country.     He  is  not  going  out  of 


194  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


it ;  he  is  not  going  to  die  out,  and  he  is  not  going  to  be  driven,  out. 
Nor  is  his  exodus  from  the  country  desirable.  I  am  frank  in 
saying  if  they,  every  one  of  them,  could  be  packed  in  a  balloon, 
carried  over  the  water,  and  emptied  into  Africa,  I  would  not 
have  it  done,  unless,  indeed,  it  were  already  arranged  that  the 
balloon  should  return  by  the  way  of  Germany,  Ireland,  Scotland, 
etc.,  and  bring  us  a  return  cargo  of  white  laborers.  If  the  negro 
is  to  stay  here,  and  it  is  desirable  to  have  him  do  so,  what  is  the 
duty  of  the  intelligent  white  man  toward  him  ?  Why,  to  edu 
cate  him,  admit  him,  when  sufficiently  instructed,  to  the  right 
of  voting,  and  as  rapidly  as  possible  prepare  him  for  a  safe  and 
rational  enjoyment  of  that  '  equality  before  the  law '  which,  as  a 
free  man,  he  has  a  right  to  claim,  and  which  we  can  not  long  re 
fuse  to  give." 

The  Mississippi  Index  says : 

"There  are  some  laws  on  our  statute-book  respecting  negroes 
that  are  of  no  paactical  use,  and  will  have  to  be  done  away  with 
some  day.  The  sooner  we  dispense  with  them  the  better.  But 
in  the  matter  of  educating  the  negro  we  can  accomplish  more 
toward  convincing  the  people  of  the  North  that  we  have  been 
misrepresented  and  slandered  than  by  legislative  action.  Let 
us  take  the  work  of  education  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Yankees 
among  us.  We  can  do  this  by  encouraging  the  establishment 
of  negro  schools  and  placing  them  in  the  charge  of  men  and 
women  whom  we  know  to  be  competent  and  trustworthy." 

In  Louisiana,  General  Longstreet,  one  of  the  most  distin 
guished  of  the  rebel  Generals,  says  : 

"  The  striking  feature,  and  the  one  that  our  people  should 
keep  in  view,  is,  that  we  are  a  conquered  people.  Recognizing 
this  fact  fairly  and  squarely,  there  is  but  one  course  left  for  wise 
men  to  pursue — accept  the  terms  that  are  offered  us  by  the  con 
querors.  There  can  be  no  discredit  to  a  conquered  people  for 
accepting  the  conditions  offered  by  their  conquerors.  Nor  is 
that  any  occasion  for  a  feeling  of  humiliation.  We  have  made 
an  honest,  and  I  hope  that  I  may  say,  a  creditable  fight,  but  wo 
have  lost.  Let  us  come  forward,  then,  and  accept  the  ends 
involved  in  the  struggle. 

"  Our  people  earnestly  desire  that  the  constitutional  govern 
ment  shall  be  re-established,  and  the  only  means  to  accomplish 


APPENDIX.  195 


this  is  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  recent  Congres 
sional  legislation. 

"The  military  bill  and  amendments  are  peace  offerings.  We 
should  accept  them  as  such,  and  place  ourselves  upon  them  as 
the  starting-point  from  which  to  meet  future  political  issues  as 
they  arise. 

"Like  other  Southern  men,  I  naturally  sought  alliance  with 
the  Democratic  party,  merely  because  it  was  opposed  to  the  Re 
publican  party.  But,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  there  is  nothing  tan 
gible  about  it,  except  the  issues  that  were  staked  upon  the  war 
and  lost.  Finding  nothing  to  take  hold  of  except  prejudice, 
which  can  not  be  worked  into  good  for  any  one,  it  is  proper  and 
right  that  I  should  seek  some  standpoint  from  which  good  may 
be  done." 

Quotations  like  these  from  prominent  Democratic  politicians, 
from  rebel  soldiers,  and  from  influential  rebel  newspapers,  might 
be  multiplied  indefinitely.  Enough  have  been  given  to  show 
how  completely  and  how  exactly  the  Reconstruction  Acts  have 
met  the  evil  to  be  remedied  in  the  South.  My  friend,  Mr.  Has- 
saurek,  in  his  admirable  speech  at  Columbus,  did  not  estimate 
too  highly  the  fruits  of  these  measures.  Said  he: 

"And,  sir,  this  remedy  at  once  effected  the  desired  cure.  The 
poor  contraband  is  no  longer  the  persecuted  outlaw  whom  in 
curable  rebels  might  kick  and  kill  with  impunity ;  but  he  at 
once  became  '  our  colored  fellow-citizen,'  in  whose  well  being  his 
former  master  takes  the  liveliest  interest.  Thus,  by  bringing 
the  negro  under  the  American  system,  we  have  completed  his 
emancipation.  He  has  ceased  to  be  a  pariah.  From  an  outcast 
he  has  been  transformed  into  a  human  being,  invested  with  the 
great  National  attribute  of  self-protection,  and  the  re-establish 
ment  of  peace,  and  order,  and  security,  the  revival  of  business 
and  trade,  and  the  restoration  of  the  Southern  States  on  the 
basis  of  loyalty  and  equal  justice  to  all,  will  be  the  happy  results 
of  this  astonishing  metamorphosis,  provided  the  party  which  has 
inaugurated  this  policy  remains  in  power  to  carry  it  out." 

The  Peace  Democracy  generally  throughout  the  North  oppose 
this  measure.  In  Ohio  they  oppose  it  especially  because  it  com 
mits  the  people  of  the  Nation  in  favor  of  manhood  suffrage. 
They  tell  us  that  if  it  is  wise  and  just  to  entrust  the  ballot  to 


196  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

colored  men  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  the  Territories,  and 
in  the  rebel  States,  it  is  also  just  and  wise  that  they  should  havo 
it  in  Ohio  and  in  the  other  States  of  the  North. 

Union  men  do  not  question  this  reasoning,  but  if  it  is  urged 
as  an  objection  to  the  plan  of  Congress,  we  reply  :  There  are  now 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States  about  five  millions  of  col 
ored  people.  They  are  not  aliens  or  strangers.  They  are  here 
not  by  the  choice  of  themselves  or  of  their  ancestors.  They  are 
here  by  the  misfortune  of  their  fathers  and  the  crime  of  ours. 
Their  labor,  privations,  and  sufferings,  unpaid  and  unrequited, 
have  cleared  and  redeemed  one-third  of  the  inhabited  territory 
of  the  Union.  Their  toil  has  added  to  the  resources  and  wealth 
of  the  nation  untold  millions.  Whether  we  prefer  it  or  not, 
they  are  our  countrymen,  and  will  remain  so  forever. 

They  are  more  than  countrymen — they  are  citizens.  Free  col 
ored  people  were  citizens  of  the  colonies.  The  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  formed  by  our  fathers,  created  no  disabilities 
on  account  of  color.  By  the  acts  of  our  fathers  and  of  ourselves, 
they  bear  equally  the  burdens  and  are  required  to  discharge  the 
highest  duties  of  citizens.  They  are  compelled  to  pay  taxes  and 
to  bear  arms.  They  fought  side  by  side  with  their  white  coun 
trymen  in  the  great  struggle  for  independence,  and  in  the  recent 
war  for  the  Union.  In  the -revolutionary  contest,  colored  men 
bore  an  honorable  part,  from  the  Boston  massacre,  in  1770,  to 
the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  in  1781.  Bancroft  says:  "Their 
names  may  be  read  on  the  pension  rolls  of  the  country  side  by 
side  with  those  of  other  soldiers  of  the  revolution."  In  the  war 
of  1812  General  Jackson  issued  an  order  complimenting  the  col 
ored  men  of  his  army  engaged  in  the  defense  of  New  Orleans. 
I  need  not  speak  of  their  number  or  of  their  services  in  the  war 
of  the  rebellion.  The  Nation  enrolled  and  accepted  them  among 
her  defendants  to  the  number  of  about  two  hundred  thousand, 
and  in  the  new  regular  army  act,  passed  at  the  close  of  the  .re 
bellion,  by  the  votes  of  Democrats  and  Union  men  alike,  in  the 
Senate  and  in  the  House,  and  by  the  assent  of  the  president, 
regiments  of  colored  men,  cavalry  and  infantry,  form  part  of  the 
standing  army  of  the  Republic. 

In  the  navy,  colored  American  sailors  have  fought  side  by  side 
with  white  men  from  the  days  of  Paul  Jones  to  the  victory  of 
the  Kearsarge  over  the  rebel  pirate  Alabama.  Colored  men  will, 


APPENDIX.  197 


in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  in  all  times  of  National  peril,  be  our 
fellow-soldiers.  Tax-payers,  countrymen,  fellow-citizens,  and 
fellow-soldiers,  the  colored  men  of  America  have  been  and  will 
be.  It  is  now  too  late  for  the  adversaries  of  nationality  and  hu 
man  rights  to  undertake  to  deprive  these  tax-payers,  freemen, 
citizens,  and  soldiers  of  the  right  to  vote. 

Slaves  were  never  voters.  It  was  bad  enough  that  our  fathers, 
for  the  sake  of  Union,  were  compelled  to  allow  masters  to  reckon 
three-fifths  of  their  slaves  for  representation,  without  adding 
slave  suffrage  to  the  other  privileges  of  the  slaveholder.  But 
free  colored  men  were  always  voters  in  many  of  the  Colonies, 
and  in  several  of  the  States,  North  and  South,  after  independ 
ence  was  achieved.  They  voted  for  members  of  the  Congress 
which  declared  independence,  and  for  members  of  every  Con 
gress  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution;  for  the 
members  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitution ;  for 
the  members  of  many  of  the  State  conventions  which  ratified 
it,  and  for  every  president  from  Washington  to  Lincoln. 

Our  government  has  been  called  the  white  man's  government. 
Not  so.  It  is  not  the  government  of  any  class,  or  sect,  or  nation 
ality,  or  race.  It  is  a  government  founded  on  the  consent  of  the 
governed,  and  Mr.  Broomall,  of  Pennsylvania,  therefore  prop 
erly  calls  it  "  the  government  of  the  governed."  It  is  not  the 
government  of  the  native  born,  or  of  the  foreign  born,  of  the 
rich  man,  or  of  the  poor  man,  of  the  white  man,  or  of  the  col 
ored  man — it  is  the  government  of  the  freeman.  And  when 
colored  men  were  made  citizens,  soldiers,  and  freemen,  by  our 
consent  and  votes,  we  were  estopped  from  denying  to  them  the 
right  of  suffrage. 

General  Sherman  was  right  when  he  said,  in  his  Atlanta  letter, 
of  1864:  "  If  you  admit  the  negro  to  this  struggle  for  any  pur 
pose,  he  has  a  right  to  stay  in  for  all ;  and,  when  the  fight  is 
over,  the  hand  that  drops  the  musket  can  not  be  denied  the 
ballot." 

Even  our  adversaries  are  compelled  to  admit  the  Jeffersonian 
rule,  that  "  the  man  who  pays  taxes  and  Avho  fights  for  the  coun 
try  is  entitled  to  vote." 

Mr.  Pendleton,  in  his  speech  against  the  enlistment  of  colored 
soldiers,  gave  up  the  whole  controversy.  He  said  :  "  Gentlemen 
tell  us  that  these  colored  men  are  ready,  with  their  strong  arms 


198  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


and  their  brave  hearts,  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  Con 
stitution,  and  to  defend  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  which  in  our 
hands  to-day  is  in  peril.  What  is  that  Constitution  ?  It  pro 
vides  that  every  child  of  the  Republic,  every  citizen  of  the  land 
is  before  the  law  the  equal  of  every  other.  It  provides  for  all 
of  them  trial  by  jury,  free  speech,  free  press,  entire  protection  for 
life  and  liberty  and  property.  It  goes  further.  It  secures  to  every 
citizen  the  right  of  suffrage,  the  right  to  hold  office,  the  right  to 
aspire  to  every  office  or  agency  by  which  the  government  is  car 
ried  on.  Every  man  called  upon  to  do  military  duty,  every  man 
required  to  take  up  arms  in  its  defense,  is  by  its  provisions  en 
titled  to  vote,  and  a  competent  aspirant  for  every  office  in  the 
government." 

The  truth  is,  impartial  manhood  suffrage  is  already  practically 
decided.  It  is  now  merely  a  question  of  time.  In  the  eleven 
rebel  States,  in  five  of  the  New  England  States,  and  in  a  num 
ber  of  the  Northwestern  States,  there  is  no  organized  party  able 
to  successfully  oppose  impartial  suffrage.  The  Democratic  party 
of  more  than  half  of  the  States  are  ready  to  concede  its  justice 
and  expediency.  The  Boston  Post,  the  able  organ  of  the  New 
England  Democracy,  says : 

"  Color  ought  to  have  no  more  to  do  with  the  matter  (voting) 
than  size.  Only  establish  a  right  standard,  and  then  apply  it  im 
partially.  A  rule  of  that  sort  is  too  firmly  fixed  in  justice  and 
equality  to  be  shaken.  It  commends  itself  too  clearly  to  the 
good  sentiment  of  the  entire  body  of  our  countrymen  to  be  suc 
cessfully  traversed  by  objections.  Once  let  this  principle  be 
fairly  presented  to  the  people  of  the  several  States,  with  the 
knowledge  on  their  part  that  they  alone  are  to  have  the  dis 
posal  and  settlement  of  it,  and  we  sincerely  believe  it  would  not 
be  long  before  it  would  be  adopted  by  every  State  in  the  Union." 

The  New  York  World,  the  ablest  Democratic  newspaper  in  the 
Union,  says : 

"  Democrats  in  the  North,  as  well  as  the  South,  should  be  fully 
alive  to  the  importance  of  the  new  element  thrust  into  the  poli 
tics  of  the  country.  We  suppose  it  to  be  morally  certain  that 
the  new  constitution  of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  be.  framed 
this  year,  will  confer  the  elective  franchise  upon  all  adult  male 
negroes.  We  have  no  faith  in  the  success  of  any  efforts  to  shut 
the  negro  element  out  of  politics.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom 


APPENDIX.  199 


frankly  to  accept  the  situation,  and  get  beforehand  with  the 
Radicals  in  gaining  an  ascendancy  over  the  negro  mind." 

The  Chicago  Times,  the  influential  organ  of  the  Northwestern 
Democracy,  says : 

"  The  word  '  white  '  is  not  found  in  any  of  the  original  consti 
tutions,  save  only  that  of  South  Carolina.  In  every  other  State 
negroes,  who  possessed  the  qualifications  that  were  required  im 
partially  of  all  men,  were  admitted  to  vote,  and  many  of  that 
race  did  vote,  in  the  Southern  as  well  as  in  the  Northern  States. 
And,  moreover,  they  voted  the  Democratic  ticket,  for  it  was  the 
Democratic  party  of  that  day  which  affirmed  their  right  in  that 
respect  upon  an  impartial  basis  with  white  men.  All  Democrats 
can  not,  even  at  this  day,  have  forgotten  the  statement  of  Gen 
eral  Jackson,  that  he  was  supported  for  the  presidency  by  negro 
voters  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

"The  doctrine  of  impartial  suffrage  is  one  of  the  earliest  and 
most  essential  doctrines  of  Democracy.  It  is  the  affirmation  of 
the  right  of  every  man  who  is  made  a  partaker  of  the  burdens 
of  the  State  to  be  represented  by  his  own  consent  or  vote  in  its 
government.  It  is  the  first  principle  upon  which  all  true  repub 
lican  government  rests.  It  is  the  basis  upon  which  the  liberties 
of  America  will  be  preserved,  if  they  are  preserved  at  all.  The 
Democratic  party  must  return  from  its  driftings,  and  stand  again 
upon  the  immutable  rock  of  principles." 

In  Ohio  the  leaders  of  the  Peace  Democracy  intend  to  carry 
on  one  more  campaign  on  the  old  and  rotten  platform  of  preju 
dice  against  colored  people.  They  seek  in  this  way  to  divert  at 
tention  from  the  record  they  made  during  the  war  of  the  rebel 
lion.  But  the  great  facts  of  our  recent  history  are  against  them. 
The  principles  of  the  fathers,  reason,  religion,  and  the  spirit  of 
the  age  are  against  them. 

The  plain  and  monstrous  inconsistency  and  injustice  of  ex 
cluding  one-seventh  of  our  population  from  all  participation  in 
a  government  founded  on  the  consent  of  the  governed  in  this 
land  of  free  discussion  is  simply  impossible.  No  such  absurdity 
and  wrong  can  be  permanent.  Impartial  suffrage  will  carry  the 
day.  No  low  prejudice  will  long  be  able  to  induce  American 
citizens  to  deny  to  a  weak  people  their  best  means  of  self-pro 
tection  for  the  unmanly  reason  that  they  are  weak.  Chief  Jus 
tice  Chase  expressed  the  true  sentiment  when  he  said  "  the 


200  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

American  Nation  can  not  afford  to  do  the  smallest  injustice  to 
the  humblest  and  feeblest  of  her  children." 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  antagonism  which  exists  between 
the  different  races  of  men.  But  difference  of  religion,  difference 
of  nationality,  difference  of  language,  and  difference  of  rank  and 
privileges  are  quite  as  fruitful  causes  of  antagonism  and  war  as 
difference  of  race.  The  bitter  strifes  between  Christians  and 
Jews,  between  Catholics  and  Protestants,  between  Englishmen 
and  Irishmen,  between  aristocracy  and  the  masses  are  only  too 
familiar.  What  causes  increase  and  aggravate  these  antago 
nisms,  and  what  are  the  measures  which  diminish  and  prevent 
them,  ought  to  be  equally  familiar.  Under  the  partial  and  un 
just  laws  of  the  Nations  of  the  Old  World  men  of  one  nation 
ality  were  allowed  to  oppress  those  of  another;  men  of  one 
faith  had  rights  which  were  denied  to  men  of  a  different  faith ; 
men  of  one  rank  or  caste  enjoyed  special  privileges  which  were 
not  granted  to  men  of  another.  Under  these  systems  peace  was 
impossible  and  strife  perpetual.  But  under  just  and  equal  laws 
in  the  United  States,  Jews,  Protestants,  and  Catholics,  English 
men  and  Irishmen,  the  former  aristocrat  and  the  masses  of  the 
people,  dwell  and  mingle  harmoniously  together.  The  uniform 
lesson  of  history  is  that  unjust  and  partial  laws  increase  and 
create  antagonism,  while  justice  and  equality  are  the  sure  foun 
dation  of  prosperity  and  peace. 

Impartial  suffrage  secures  also  popular  education.  Nothing 
has  given  the  careful  observer  of  events  in  the  South  more  grat 
ification  than  the  progress  which  is  there  going  on  in  the  estab 
lishment  of  schools.  The  colored  people,  who  as  slaves  were  de 
barred  from  education,  regard  the  right  to  learn  as  one  of  the 
highest  privileges  of  freemen.  The  ballot  gives  them  the  power 
to  secure  that  privilege.  All  parties  and  all  public  men  in  the 
South  agree  that,  if  colored  men  vote,  ample  provision  must  be 
made  in  the  reorganization  of  eveiy  State  for  free  schools.  The 
ignorance  of  the  masses,  whites  as  well  as  blacks,  is  one  of  the 
most  discouraging  features  of  Southern  society.  If  Congress 
ional  reconstruction  succeeds,  there  will  be  free  schools  for  all. 
The  colored  people  will  see  that  their  children  attend  them. 
We  need  indulge  in  no  fears  that  the  white  people  will  be  left 
behind.  Impartial  suffrage,  then,  means  popular  intelligence; 
it  means  progress ;  it  means  loyalty  ;  it  means  harmony  between 


APPENDIX.  201 


the  North  and  the  South,  and  between  the  Ayhites  and  the  col 
ored  people. 

The  Union  party  believes  that  the  general  welfare  requires 
that  measures  should  be  adopted  which  will  work  great  changes 
in  the  South.  Our  adversaries  are  accustomed  to  talk  of  the  re 
bellion  as  an  affair  which  began  when  the  rebels  attacked  Fort 
Sumter  in  1861,  and  which  ended  when  Lee  surrendered  to 
Grant  in  1865.  It  is  true  that  the  attempt  by  force  of  arms  to 
destroy  the  United  States  began  and  ended  during  the  adminis 
tration  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  But  the  causes,  the  principles,  and  the 
motives  which  produced  the  rebellion  are  of  an  older  date  than 
the  generation  which  suffered  from  the  fruit  they  bore,  and  their 
influence  and  power  are  likely  to  last  long  after  that  generation 
passes  away.  Ever  since  armed  rebellion  failed,  a  large  party  in 
the  South  have  struggled  to  make  participation  in  the  rebellion 
honorable  and  loyalty  to  the  Union  dishonorable.  The  lost 
cause  with  them  is  the  honored  cause.  In  society,  in  business, 
and  in  politics,  devotion  to  treason  is  the  test  of  merit,  the  pass 
port  to  preferment.  They  wish  to  return  to  the  old  state  of 
things — an  oligarchy  of  race  and  the  sovereignty  of  States. 

To  defeat  this  purpose,  to  secure  the  rights  of  man,  and  to 
perpetuate  the  National  Union,  are  the  objects  of  the  Congress 
ional  plan  of  reconstruction.  That  plan  has  the  hearty  support 
of  the  great  generals  (so  far  as  their  opinions  are  known) — of 
Grant,  of  Thomas,  of  Sheridan,  of  Howard — who  led  the  armies 
of  the  Union  which  conquered  the  rebellion.  The  statesmen 
most  trusted  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  by  the  loyal  people  of  the 
country  during  the  war  also  support  it.  The  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  upon  formal  application  and  after  solemn  ar 
gument,  refuse  to  interfere  with  its  execution.  The  loyal  press 
of  the  country,  which  did  so  much  in  the  time  of  need  to  up 
hold  the  patriot  cause,  without  exception,  are  in  favor  of  the 
plan. 

In  the  South,  as  we  have  seen,  the  lessons  of  the  war  and  the 
events  occurring  since  the  war  have  made  converts  of  thousands 
of  the  bravest  arid  of  the  ablest  of  those  who  opposed  the  Na 
tional  cause.  General  Longstreet,  a  soldier  second  to  no  living 
corps  commander  of  the  rebel  army,  calls  it  "a  peace  offering," 
and  advises  the  South  in  good  faith  to  organize  under  it.  Unre 
pentant  rebels  and  unconverted  Peace  Democrats  oppose  it,  just 


202  LIFE   OP  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

as  they  opposed  the  measures  which  destroyed  slavery  and  saved 
the  nation. 

Opposition  to  whatever  the  Nation  approves  seems  to  be  the 
policy  of  the  representative  men  of  the  Peace  Democracy.  De 
feat  and  failure  comprise  their  whole  political  history.  In 
laboring  to  overthrow  reconstruction  they  are  probably  destined 
to  further  defeat  and  further  failure.  1  know  not  how  it  may 
be  in  other  States,  but  if  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken  as  to  the 
mind  of  the  loyal  people  of  Ohio,  they  mean  to  trust  power  in 
the  hands  of  no  man  who,  during  the  awful  struggle  for  the  Na 
tion's  life,  proved  unfaithful  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  of 
Union.  They  will  continue  to  exclude  from  the  administration 
of  the  government  those  who  prominently  opposed  the  war, 
until  every  question  arising  out  of  the  rebellion  relating  to  the 
integrity  of  the  Nation  and  to  human  rights  shall  have  been 
firmly  settled  on  the  basis  of  impartial  justice. 

They  mean  that  the  State  of  Ohio,  in  this  great  progress, 
"whose  leading  object  is  to  elevate  the  condition  of  men,  to  lift 
artificial  weights  from  all  shoulders,  to  clear  the  paths  of  lauda 
ble  pursuits  for  all,  to  afford  all  an  unfettered  start  and  a  fair 
chance  in  the  race  of  life,"  shall  tread  no  step  backward. 

Penetrated  and  sustained  by  a  conviction  that  in  this  contest 
the  Union  party  of  Ohio  is  doing  battle  for  the  right,  I  enter 
upon  my  part  of  the  labors  of  the  canvass  with  undoubting  con 
fidence  that  the  goodness  of  the  cause  will  supply  the  weakness 
of  its  advocates,  and  command  in  the  result  that  triumphant 
success  which  I  believe  it  deserves. 


Speech  of  GENERAL  E.  B.  HAYES,  delivered  at  Sidney, 
Ohio,  Wednesday,  September  4, 1867. 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow-Citizens : 

It  was  very  plain  at  the  beginning  of  the  pending  canvas  in 
Ohio  that  the  leading  speakers  of  the  peace  party  of  the  State 
were  desirous  to  persuade  the  people  that  at  this  election  they 
were  to  pass  upon  different  issues  from  those  which  have  been 


APPENDIX.  203 


considered  in  former  elections.  They  undertook  at  the  begin 
ning,  generally,  to  discuss  questions  which  have  not  heretofore- 
been  much  considered.  They  told  the  people  that  the  old  issues 
were  settled,  and  that  in  this  canvass  in  particular,  there  would 
be  no  propriety  in  discussing  the  record  made  by  men  during 
the  war;  that  the  war  was  over;  that  by-gones  ought  to  be  per 
mitted  to  be  by-gones ;  and  they  started  a  considerable  number 
of  subjects  for  discussion,  which  I  claim  are  either  unimportant 
matters,  or  are  matters  which  are  in  no  sense  party  questions. 
For  example,  Judge  Earmey,  in  a  very  elaborate  speech  at  Mans 
field,  of  great  length,  discussed  perhaps  a  dozen  or  fifteen  topics, 
almost  all  of  which  are  in  no  sense  party  questions.  For  exam 
ple,  he  talked  about  the  land  grants  that  had  been  made  to  the 
railroads,  particularly  to  the  Pacific  Eailroad,  during  the  last  few 
years,  and  of  the  subsidies  of  money  that  by  law  have  been 
given  to  the  railroad  companies.  Now,  this  is  but  a  specimen  of 
the  topics  discussed  by  Judge  Ranney.  It  is  enough  to  say,  in 
regard  to  the  railroads,  that  they  were  voted  for  indiscriminately 
by  Union  men  and  by  Democrats — peace  Democrats  and  war 
Democrats — and  that  they  were  finally  made  laws  by  the  signa 
ture  of  Andrew  Johnson.  They  are  in  no  sense,  therefore,  party 
issues;  and  the  only  purpose  of  discussing  them  is,  so  far  as  I 
can  see,  to  mislead  the  people,  and  to  withdraw  their  attention 
from  the  main  issues  before  them. 

Judge  Thurman  has  discussed  the  subject  of  a  standing  army. 
He  has  spoken  of  the  great  expense  of  keeping  up  a  standing 
army,  and,  as  I  think,  has  greatly  exaggerated  the  sum  requisite — 
naming  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  as  the  annual  expense 
of  it.  I  suppose  that  is  three  or  four,  or  perhaps  five  times  as 
great  as  the  actual  amount :  but  I  do  not  stop  to  argue  that  mat 
ter  with  him.  I  say  to  him,  in  regard  to  it,  that  Democrats  voted 
for  it  in  both  houses,  and  it  became  a  law  by  the  signature  of  the 
president  whom  he  supports.  It  is  not,  therefore,  a  party  issue. 

I  can  not,  in  any  reasonable  length  of  time,  even  name  the 
various  topics  that  have  been  discussed  in  this  way.  Perhaps 
none  has  attracted  more  attention  than  the  subject  of  finances, 
and  the  main  issue  presented  by  our  Democratic  friends  on  that 
subject  has  been  this — namely,  that  it  is  for  the  interest  of  the 
people  to  pay  off  the  whole  of  the  present  bonded  debt  by  an 
issue  of  greenbacks.  At  the  beginning  of  the  canvass,  the  Gin- 


204  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


cinnati  Enquirer,  and,  I  think,  the  leading  peace  party  paper  at 
Columbus,  and  Mr.  Vallandigham,  presented  this  as  the  leading 
question  before  the  people.  The  Enquirer  told  us  that  Demo 
cratic  conventions  in  forty  counties  had  resolved  in  favor  of  it; 
and  certainly  if  any  one  of  the  topics  which  have  been  presented 
in  this  way  may  be  regarded  as  a  party  topic,  that  is  one.  If 
they  have  succeeded  in  making  a  new  issue,  that  is  one.  On  the 
20th  of  last  month,  I  spoke  at  Batavia,  and  I  referred  to  that 
subject.  I  said  that  Judge  Thurman  was  plainly  committed 
against  the  issue  of  more  greenbacks ;  that  when  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  the  war,  and  the  necessities-  of  the  country  were  such 
that  it  was  necessary  to  get  money  by  every  means  in  our  power, 
he  had  told  the  people  there  was  no  constitutional  authority  to 
issue  greenbacks.  I  said  further,  that  in  his  speech  at  Waverly 
he  had  spoken  of  this  currency  as  a  currency  of  rags;  and  that, 
therefore,  I  was  authorized  to  say  he  was  opposed  to  this  new 
scheme  of  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer.  That  speech  of  mine  was  re 
ported  in  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  of  the  next  morning.  On 
the  following  day,  the  22d  of  August,  the  Enquirer  noticed  my 
speech.  I  will  read  you  the  whole  of  the  Enquirer  s  article  on 
that  subject.  I  do  this  because  I  think,  in  this  county  as  well  as 
elsewhere,  Democrats  are  claiming  the  votes  of  Union  men  on 
the  ground  that  it  is  wise  to  pay  off  the  bonded  debt  by  an  issue 
of  greenbacks,  and  I  wish  to  show  that  Judge  Thurman  is  op 
posed  to  the  scheme.  Therefore,  it  is  no  party  issue,  because  no 
party  State  convention  has  resolved  in  favor  of  it,  and  the  peace 
party  candidate  for  governor  is  against  it.  The  Enquirer  says, 
under  the  caption  of  ''Judge  Thurman  and  the  bondholders:  " 

"  In  his  speech  at  Batavia,  Clermont  county,  on  Tuesday,  Gen 
eral  Hayes,  while  discussing  the  payment  of  the  public  debt 
question,  said : 

"  Judge  Thurman  has  not  yet  spoken  distinctly  on  this  ques 
tion.  But  his  well-known  opinion,  that  even  the  necessities  of 
the  war  did  not  authorize,  under  our  constitution,  the  issue  of 
the  legal-tender  currency,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  he  speaks 
of  it  in  his  Waverly  speech  as  a  currency  of  'rags — only 
rags' — warrants  me  in  saying  that  he  is  probably  opposed,  on 
grounds  both  of  constitutional  law  and  of  expediency,  to  the 
financial  scheme  of  Mr.  Vallandigham  and  of  the  Cincinnati 
Enquirer.  Judge  Kanney  and  Judge  Jewe^  are  also  evidently 


APPENDIX.  205 


unwilling  to  accept  the  inflation  theories  of  the  Enquirer.  They 
are  both  opposed  to  taking  up  the  greenbacks  now  in  circulation 
by  an  issue  of  bonds  bearing  interest,  and  repeat  the  same  ar 
guments  against  this  policy  of  Johnson's  administration  which 
were  urged  by  the  Cincinnati  Gazette  and  by  Thaddeus  Stevens 
and  Judge  Kelley,  with  much  more  cogency,  a  year  or  two  ago." 

Commenting  on  the  above,  the  Enquirer  says,  editorially : 

"  This  will  render  it  necessary  for  Judge  Thurman  to  do  what 
he  ought  to  have  done  in  his  first  (Waverly)  speech,  define  his 
position  distinctly  on  this  question.  As  one  of  his  friends  and 
supporters,  we  call  upon  him  to  put  a  stop  to  these  representa 
tions  of  General  Hayes  by  giving  the  people  his  views. 

"  Is  he  for  the  bondholders  or  the  people?  Does  he  believe 
that  the  debts  due  the  bondholders  should  be  paid  in  any  other 
than  the  government  money',  which  pays  all  other  debts  and  lia 
bilities,  even  those  which  were  contracted  in  gold  ? 

"  Is  he  for  one  currency  for  the  bondholders  and  another  and 
different  currency  for  the  people  ? 

"The  Democracy  of  more  than  forty  counties  in  Ohio  have 
spoken  out  on  this  question,  and  we  have  no  doubt  the  example 
will  be  followed  by  every  county  in  the  State.  In  some  counties 
no  other  resolutions  have  been  passed. 

"  The  time  has  passed  when  the  people  kept  step  to  the  music 
of  candidates.  The  latter  must  now  march  with  and  not  against 
the  people.  Will  Judge  Thurrnan  define  his  position,  for  thou 
sands  of  votes  may  denend  upon  it  ?" 

On  the  27th  of  August,  at  Wapakoneta,  Judge  Thurman  made 
a  speech,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand — as  you  see,  a  very  long 
speech,  covering  all  of  one  side  of  the  Commercial,  and  parts  of 
two  others.  One  would  suppose  that,  a  week  having  elapsed 
since  the  speech  to  which  his  attention  was  called  had  been 
made,  that  in  this  speech,  at  least,  if  this  was  an  important  issue 
of  the  canvass,  we  should  have  his  position  plainly  and  clearly 
defined.  Of  that  long  speech  he  devotes  to  that  important  ques 
tion,  which  the  Enquirer  says  is  the  real  question,  and  which 
many  of  your  speakers  doubtless  here  say  is  the  real  question, 
precisely  eleven  lines — one  short  paragraph.  And  the  pith  of 
that  paragraph  is  contained  in  these  two  lines :  "  I  am  sorry  that 
what  I  have  to  say  on  that  subject  for  publication  I  must  reserve 
for  some  future  time." 


206  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

I  think  that  this  satisfactorily  shows  where  my  friend  Judge 
Thurman  stands  on  that  issue,  and  that  we  therefore  need  no 
longer  discuss  it — in  short,  that,  as  a  party  question,  it  is  aban 
doned  by  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party.  There  is  an 
other  phase  of  the  financial  question.  Judge  Ranney  and  Judge 
Jewett  are  telling  the  people  that  it  is  the  policy  of  Secretary 
McCulloch  to  take  up  the  greenback  currency  and  issue  in  its 
stead  interest-bearing  bonds,  not  taxable,  principal  and  interest, 
both  payable  in  coin  at  the  option  of  the  secretary.  That  is 
true.  That  was  the  policy,  and  is  the  policy  of  Secretary  Mc 
Culloch.  But  they  go  further,  and  say  they  are  authorized  to 
say  that  this  is  the  policy  of  the  Union  party.  I  take  issue  with 
them  on  that  statement.  They  offer  no  proof  that  it  is  true, 
except  the  fact  that  it  is  the  policy  of  the  Johnson  administra 
tion;  and  I  submit  to  an  intelligent  audience  that  the  fact  that 
Johnson  and  his  administration  are  in  favor  of  a  measure  is  no 
evidence  whatever  that  the  Union  party  supports  it.  It  is  not 
for  me  to  prove  a  negative,  but  I  am  prepared,  nevertheless,  to 
prove  it.  The  very  measure  which  was  intended  to  carry  out 
this  policy  of  Secretary  McCulloch  to  enable  him  to  take  up  the 
greenback  currency  with  interest-bearing  bonds  was  introduced 
in  Congress  in  March,  1866.  I  have  here  the  votes  upon  that 
question,  and  I  say  to  you  that  the  Democratic  party  in  both 
houses — all  the  members  of  the  Democratic  party  in  both 
houses — voted  for  Senator  McCulloch's  plan,  ar.d  that  Mr.  Ju 
lian,  Judge  Schofield,  Mr.  Lawrence,  all  of  whom  I  see  here,  and 
myself,  a  majority  of  the  Republican  members  of  Congress,  voted 
against  the  scheme,  and  it  became  a  law  because  a  minority  of 
the  Union  party,  with  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Democratic 
party,  supported  it;  and  because,  when  it  was  submitted  to  An 
drew  Johnson,  instead  of  vetoing  it,  as  he  did  all  Union  party 
measures,  he  wrote  his  name,  on  the  12th  of  April,  at  the  bottom 
of  it,  "  Approved,  Andrew  Johnson."  Now,  it  is  under  that 
measure,  arid  by  virtue  of  that  law,  voted  for  by  Mr.  Finck  and 
and  Mr.  LeBlond.  of  the  Democratic  party  of  Ohio,  in  the  House 
of  Representatives ;  it  is  by  virtue  of  that  law  that  to-day  Secre 
tary  McCulloch  is  issuing  interest-bearing  bonds,  not  taxable,  to 
take  up  the  greenback  currency  of  the  country.  I  think,  then, 
I  am  authorized  in  saying  that  these  gentlemen  are  mistaken 
when  they  accuse  the  Union  party  of  being  in  favor  of  taking 


APPENDIX.  207 


up  the  greenback  currency  and  putting  in  the  place  of  it  inter 
est-bearing,  non-taxable  bonds. 

This  investigation  of  two  or  three  of  the  leading  questions 
presented  to  the  people  at  the  beginning  of  this  canvass  by  the 
advocates  of  the  peace  party  of  Ohio  is,  I  think,  sufficient  to 
warrant  me  in  saying  that  all  of  the  side  issues  presented  are 
merely  urged  on  the  people  to  withdraw  their  minds  from  the 
great  main  issue  which  ought  to  engage  the  attention  of  the 
American  Nation.  What  is  that  great  issue  ?  It  is  reconstruc 
tion.  That  is  the  main  question  before  us,  and  until  it  is  settled, 
and  settled  rightly,  all  other  issues  sink  into  insignificance  in 
comparison  with  it.  Fortunately  for  the  Union  party  of  Ohio, 
events  are  occurring  every  day  at  Washington  which  tend  more 
and  more  clearly  to  define  the  exact  question  before  the  people, 
showing  that  the  main  question  is  whether  the  Union  shall  be  re 
constructed  in  the  interests  of  the  rebellion  or  in  the  interests  of 
loyalty  and  Union ;  whether  that  reconstruction  shall  be  carried 
on  by  men  who,  during  the  war,  were  in  favor  of  the  war  and 
against  the  rebellion,  or  by  men  who  in  the  North  were  against 
the  war, -and  who  in  the  South  carried  on  the  rebellion.  On  one 
side  of  this  question  we  see  Andrew  Johnson,  Judge  Black,  and 
the  other  leaders  of  the  peace  party  of  the  North  and  the  unre 
pentant  rebels  of  the  South ;  and  on  the  other  side  is  the  great 
war  secretary,  Stanton,  with  General  Grant,  General  Sheridan, 
General  Thomas,  General  Howard,  and  the  other  Union  com 
manders  engaged  in  carrying  out  the  reconstruction  acts  of  Con 
gress.  This  presents  clearly  enough  the  question  before  the 
people.  General  Grant,  in  one  paragraph  of  his  letter  to  the 
president,  said  to  him  : 

"General  Sheridan  has  performed  liis  civil  duties  faithfully 
and  intelligently.  His  removal  v-  ill  only  bo  regarded  as  an  effort 
to  defeat  the  laws  of  Congress.  Jt  v,  ill  be  interpreted  by  the 
unreconstructed  element  in  the  South — those  uho  did  all  they 
could  to  break  up  this  government  by  arms,  and  now  wish  to  be 
the  only  element  consulted  as  to  the  method  of  restoring  order 
— as  a  triumph.  It  will  embolden  them  to  renewed  opposition 
to  the  will  of  the  loyal  masses,  believing  that  they  have  the  ex 
ecutive  with  them." 

This  presents  exactly  the  question  before  the  people.  We 
want  the  loyal  people  of  the  country,  the  victors  in  the  great 


208  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 

struggle  we  have  passed  through,  to  do  the  work;  we  want  re 
construction  upon  such  principles,  and  by  means  of  such  meas 
ures  that  the  causes  which  made  reconstruction  necessary  shall 
not  exist  in  the  reconstructed  Union  ;  we  want  that  foolish  notion 
of  State  rights,  which  teaches  that  the  State  is  superior  to  the 
Nation — that  there  is  a  State  sovereignty  which  commands  the 
allegiance  of  every  citizen  higher  than  the  sovereignty  of  the 
nation — we  want  that  notion  left  out  of  the  reconstructed 
Union ;  we  want  it  understood  that  whatever  doubts  may  have 
existed  prior  to  the  war  as  to  the  relation  of  the  State  to  the 
National  government,  that  now  the  National  government  is  su 
preme,  anything  in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  State  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding.  Again,  as  one  of  the  causes  of  the 
rebellion,  we  want  slavery  left  out,  not  merely  in  name,  but  in 
fact,  and  forever;  we  want  the  last  vestige,  the  last  relic  of  that 
institution,  rooted  out  of  the  laws  and  institutions  of  every  State ; 
we  want  that  in  the  South  there  shall  be  no  more  suppression 
of  free  discussion.  I  notice  that  in  the  long  speech  of  my  friend, 
Judge  Th-urman,  he  says  that  for  nearly  fifty  years,  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  freedom  of  speech  and  of 
the  press  was  never  interfered  with,  either  by  the  government  or 
the  people.  For  more  than  thirty  years,  fellow-citizens,  there 
has  been  no  such  thing  as  free  discussion  in  the  South.  Those 
moderate  speeches  of  Abraham  Lincoln  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
— not  one  of  them — could  have  been  delivered  without  endan 
gering  his  life,  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  We  want  in 
the  reconstructed  Union  that  there  shall  be  the  same  freedom 
of  the  press  and  freedom  of  speech  in  the  States  of  the  South 
that  there  always  has  been  in  the  States  of  the  North.  Again, 
we  want  the  reconstructed  Union  upon  such  principles  that  the 
men  of  the  South  who,  during  the  war,  were  loyal  and  true  to 
the  government,  shall  be  protected  in  life,  liberty,  and  property, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  their  political  rights.  It  becomes  the 
solemn  duty  of  the  loyal  victors  in  the  great  struggle  to  see  that 
the  men  who,  in  the  midst  of  difficulties,  discouragements,  and 
dangers  in  the  South  were  true,  are  protected  in  these  rights. 
And,  in  order  that  our  reconstruction  shall  be  carried  out  faith 
fully  and  accomplish  these  obje.cts,  we  further  want  that  the 
work  shall  be  in  the  hands  of  the  right  men.  Andrew  Johnson, 
in  the  days  when  he  was  loyal,  said  the  work  of  reconstruction 


APPENDIX.  209 


ought  to  be  placed  absolutely  in  the  hands  of  the  loyal  men  of 
the  State ;  that  rebels,  and  particularly  leading  rebels,  ought  not 
to  participate  in  that  work ;  that  while  that  work  is  going  on 
they  must  take  back  seats.  We  want  that  understood  in  our 
work  of  reconstruction.  How  important  it  is  to  have  the  right 
men  in  charge  of  this  work  appears  upon  the  most  cursory  ex 
amination  of  what  has  already  been  done.  President  Lincoln 
administered  the  same  laws  substantially — was  sworn  to  support 
the  same  constitution  with  Andrew  Johnson — yet  how  different 
the  reconstruction  as  carried  out  by  these  two  men.  Lincoln's 
reconstruction  in  all  the  States  which  he  undertook  to  reorgan 
ize  gave  to  those  States  loyal  governments,  loyal  governors, 
loyal  legislatures,  judges,  and  officers  of  the  law.  Andrew  John 
son,  administering  the  same  constitution  and  the  same  laws,  re 
constructs  a  number  of  States,  and  in  all  of  them  leading  rebels 
are  elected  governors,  leading  rebels  are  members  of  the  legis 
lature,  and  leading  rebels  are  sent  to  Congress.  It  makes,  then, 
the  greatest  difference  to  the  people  of  this  country  who  it  is 
that  does  the  work. 

This,  my  friends,  brings  me  to  a  proposition  to  which  I  call  the 
attention  of  every  audience  that  I  have  occasion  to  address,  and 
that  is  this,  that  until  the  work  of  reconstruction  is  complete, 
until  every  question  arising  out  of  the  rebellion  relating  to  the 
integrity  of  the  Nation  and  to  human  rights  has  been  settled, 
and  settled  rightly,  no  man  ought  to  be  trusted  with  power  in 
this  country,  who,  during  the  struggle  for  the  Nation's  life,  was 
unfaithful  to  Union  and  liberty.  That  is  the  proposition  upon 
which  I  go  before  the  people  of  Ohio.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
canvass,  as  I  have  said,  the  gentlemen  who  are  engaged  in  advo 
cating  the  claims  of  the  peace  party  of  Ohio  did  not  desire  to 
have  this  record  discussed.  I  am  happy  to  know  by  this  long 
Wapakoneta  speech  of  Judge  Thurman  that  at  last  they  have 
found  it  necessary  to  come  to  the  discussion  of  the  true  question. 
Judge  Thurman,  in  that  speech,  invites  us  to  the  discussion  of 
it.  He  says : 

"  I  give  all  of  them  this  bold  and  unequivocal  defiance,  that 
there  is  no  one  act  of  my  life,  or  one  sentence  ever  uttered  by 
me  that  I  am  not  prepared  to  have  investigated  by  the  American 
people ;  and  I  wish  them  to  stand  up  to  the  same  rule,  that  I 


210  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


may  see  what  is  in  their  past  record,  and  see  how  it  tallies  with 
what  they  say  to  the  American  people  at  the  present  time." 

He  proceeds  to  do  this.  He  proceeds  to  examine  the  record 
of  various  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Union  party.  Now,  I 
am  not  in  the  habit  of  giving  challenges  or  accepting  challenges, 
but  I  desire,  for  a  few  minutes,  to  ask  the  attention  of  this  audi 
ence  to  the  record  of  my  friend,  Judge  Thurman.  He  under 
takes  to  justify  the  course  he  took  as  a  leader  of  the  peace  party 
of  Ohio,  by  telling  us  what  Mr.  Lincoln  said  in  1848.  Now, 
what  is  it  that  Mr.  Lincoln  said  ?  He  made  a  speech  during  the 
Mexican  war  as  to  the  title  which  Texas  had  to  certain  lands  in 
dispute  between  the  State  of  Texas  and  Mexico,  or  rather  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  He  laid  down  the  doc 
trine  that  a  revolutionary  government  is  entitled  to  own  just  as 
much  of  the  property  of  the  former  government  as  it  has  suc 
ceeded  in  conquering;  and  he  says,  in  the  course  of  that  speech, 
that  it  is  the  right  of  every  people  to  revolutionize;  that  the 
right  of  revolution,  in  short,  belongs  to  every  people;  that  it  was 
the  right  exercised  by  our  forefathers  in  1776.  Now,  that  is  all 
true — that  is  all  correct;  but  how  does  my  friend  Judge  Thur 
man  find  any  justification  for  the  rebellion  in  that?  What. is 
the  right  of  revolution?  It  is  the  right  to  resist  a  government 
under  which  you  live,  if  that  government  is  guilty  of  intolerable 
oppression  or  injustice,  but  not  otherwise.  And  that  is  the  doc 
trine  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Now,  in  order  to  make  that  a  prece 
dent  for  the  rebellion,  Judge  Thurman  is  bound  to  take  the  posi 
tion  that,  in  the  case  of  the  rebel  States,  there  had  been  acts  of 
intolerable  oppression  and  injustice  done  to  that  part  of  the 
country  which  went  into  rebellion.  I  know  that  the  rebels,  for 
the  most  part,  did  not  put  the  rebellion  upon  that  ground ;  but 
Judge  Thurman  now  does  it  for  them.  He  makes  it  out — or 
must  make  it  out  to  sustain  himself — that  it  was  a  case  of  revo. 
lution,  growing  out  of  the  exercise  of  that  right  which  our 
fathers  exercised  in  1776.  Now,  if  Judge  Thurman  can  show 
that  there  was  justification  for  the  rebellion,  he  has  made  out 
his  case.  If  that  rebellion  was  not  justified  by  such  circum 
stances — if  there  was  no  such  intolerable  injustice  and  oppres 
sion — he  has  failed  in  his  precedent.  He  goes  further,  and  says 
that  Mr.  Wade,  Chief  Justice  Chase,  Secretary  Stanton,  and  Gen 
eral  Butler  all  held  sentiments  before  the  war  the  same  as  the 


APPENDIX.  211 


sentiments  which  he  held  then,  and  holds  now,  on  the  subject 
of  the  rights  of  the  States.  Suppose  they  did — suppose  they  be 
longed  to  the  same  party  before  the  war — is  that  any  defense  of 
his  conduct  during  the  war?  They  saw  fit,  after  the  war  had 
broken  out,  to  rally  to  the  side  of  their  country,  notwithstand 
ing  any  notions  or  theories  they  might  have  held  with  regard  to 
the  rights  of  the  States. 

I  do  not  stop  now  to  discuss  the  correctness  of  Judge  Thur- 
man's  opinions  as  to  the  course  of  these  men  prior  to  the  war. 
It  is  enough  for  me  to  say  that,  the  question  I  make — the  ques 
tion  which  the  people  of  Ohio  make — is,  What  was  your  conduct 
after  it  was  found  that  there  was  a  conspiracy  to  break  up  the 
Union,  after  war  was  upon  us,  and  armies  were  raised — what  was 
your  conduct  then?  That  is  the  question  before  the  people. 
And  I  ask  of  an  intelligent  audience,  what  was  the  duty  of  a 
good  citizen  after  that  war  for  the  destruction  of  the  government 
and  the  Union  had  begun  ?  Need  I  ask  any  old  Jackson  Demo 
crat  what  is  his  duty  when  the  Union  is  at  stake?  In  1806, 
Aaron  Burr  proposed  this  matter  to  Andrew  Jackson,  of  making 
a  new  confederacy  in  the  Southwest.  Jackson  said  : 

."I  hate  the  Dons,  and  I  would  like  to  see  Mexico  dismem 
bered  ;  but  before  I  would  see  one  State  of  this  Union  severed 
from  the  rest,  I  would  die  in  the  last  ditch." 

That  was  Jackson's  Democracy.     Douglass  said  : 

"  This  is  no  time  for  delay.  The  existence  of  a  conspiracy  is 
now  known  ;  armies  are  raised  to  accomplish  it.  There  can  be 
but  two  sides  to  the  question.  A  man  must  be  either  for  the 
United  States  or  against  the  United  States.  There  can  be  no 
neutrals  in  this  war — only  patriots  and  traitors." 

There  is  the  Douglass  doctrine.  But  I  need  not  go  back  to 
Jackson  and  Douglass.  I  have  the  opinions  of  the  very  gentle 
men  who  now  lead  the  peace  party  on  this  subject.  Let  me  read 
you  a  resolution,  introduced  and  passed  through  a  Democratic 
convention,  in  1848,  by  Clement  L.  Vallandigham : 

"Jlesolved,  That  whatever  opinions  might  have  been  enter 
tained  of  the  origin,  necessity  or  justice,  by  the  Tories  of  the 
revolutionary  war,  by  the  Federalists  of  the  late  war  with  Eng 
land,  or  by  the  Whigs  and  Abolitionists  of  the  present  war  with 
Mexico,  the  fact  of  their  country  being  engaged  in  such  a  war 
ought  to  have  been  sufficient  for  them,  and  to  have  precluded 


212  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


debate  on  that  subject  till  a  successful  termination  of  the  war, 
and  that  in  the  meantime  the  patriot  could  have  experienced  no 
difficulty  in  recognizing  his  place  on  the  side  of  his  country,  and 
could  never  have  been  induced  to  yield  either  physical  or  moral 
aid  to  the  enemy." 

I  will  quote  also  from  Judge  Thurman  himself.  In  a  speech 
lecturing  one  of  his  colleagues,  who  thought  the  Mexican  war 
was  unnecessary,  he  says  : 

"  It  is  a  strange  way  to  support  one's  country,  right  or  wrong, 
to  declare  after  war  has  begun,  wl^en  it  exists  both  in  law  and  in 
fact,  that  the  war  is  aggressive,  unholy,  unrighteous,  and  damn 
able  011  the  part  of  the  government  of  that  country,  and  on  that 
government  rests  its  responsibility  and  its  wrongful  ness.  It  is 
a  strange  way  to  support  one's  country  right  or  wrong  in  a  war, 
to  tax  one's  imagination  to  the  utmost  to  depict  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  the  contest;  to  dwell  on  what  it  has  already 
cost  and  what  it  will  cost  in  future;  to  depict  her  troops 
prostrated  by  disease  and  dying  with  pestilence;  in  a  word,  to 
destroy,  as  far  as  possible,  the  moral  force  of  the  government  in 
the  struggle,  and  hold  it  up  to  its  own  people  and  the  world  as 
the  aggressor  that  merits  their  condemnation.  It  was  for  this 
that  1  arraigned  my  colleague,  and  that  I  intend  to  arraign  him. 
It  was  because  his  remarks,  as  far  as  they  could  have  any  in 
fluence,  were  evidently  calculated  to  depress  the  spirits  of  his 
own  countrymen,  to  lessen  the  moral  force  of  his  own  govern 
ment,  and  to  inspire  with  confidence  and  hope  the  enemies  of  his 
country." 

lie  goes  on  further  to  say : 

"  What  a  singular  mode  it  was  of  supporting  her  in  a  war  to 
bring  against  the  war  nearly  all  the  charges  that  were  brought 
by  the  peace  party  Federalists  against  the  last  war ,  to  denounce 
it  as  an  unrighteous,  unholy,  and  damnable  war ;  to  hold  up  our 
government  to  the  eyes  of  the  world  as  the  aggressors  in  the 
conflict ;  to  charge  it  with  motives  of  conquest  and  aggrandizf \ 
ment ;  to  parade  and  portray  in  the  darkest  colors  all  the  hor 
rors  of  war;  to  dwell  upon  its  cost  and  depict  its  calamities." 

Now,  that  was  the  doctrine  of  Judge  Thurman  as  to  the  duties 
of  citizens  in  time  of  war — in  time  of  such  a  war  as  the  Mexican 
war  even,  in  which  no  vital  interest  of  the  country  could  by  pos 
sibility  suffer.  Judge  Thurman  says  that  General  Hayes,  in  his 


APPENDIX.  213 


speech,  has  a  great  many  slips  cut  from  the  newspapers,  and  that 
he  must  have  had  some  sewing  society  of  old  ladies  to  cut  out  the 
slips  for  him.  I  do  n't  know  how  he  found  that  out.  I  never 
told  it,  and  you  know  the  ladies  never  tell  secrets  that  are  con 
fided  to  them.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  speech  of  Judge  Thurman, 
from  which  I  have  read  extracts,  and  I  find  that  he  has  in  it 
slips  cut  from  more  than  twenty  different  prints,  sermons,  news 
papers,  old  speeches,  and  pamphlets,  to  show  how,  in  the  war  of 
1812,  certain  Federalists  uttered  unpatriotic  sentiments.  I  pre 
sume  he  must  have  acquired  his  slips  on  that  day  in  the  way  he 
says  I  acquired  mine  now. 

Now,  my  friends,  I  propose  to  hold  Judge  Thurman  to  no  se 
vere  rule  of  accountability  for  his  conduct  during  the  war.  I 
merely  ask  that  it  shall  be  judged  by  his  own  rule :  "  Your  coun 
try  is  engaged  in  war,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  say 
nothing  and  do  nothing  which  shall  depress  the  spirits  of  his 
own  countrymen,  nothing  that  shall  encourage  the  enemies  of 
his  country,  or  give  them  moral  aid  or  comfort."  That  is  the 
rule.  Now,  Judge  Thurman,  how  does  your  conduct  square  with 
it  ?  1  do  not  propose  to  begin  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  or 
even  just  before  the  war,  to  cite  the  record  of  Judge  Thurman. 
I  am  willing  to  say  that  perhaps  men  might  have  been  mistaken 
at  that  time.  They  might  have  supposed  in  the  beginning  a 
-conciliatory  policy,  a  non-coercive  policy,  would  in  some  way 
avoid  the  threatened  struggle.  But  I  ask  you  to  approach  the 
period  when  the  war  was  going  on,  when  armies  to  the  number 
of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men  were  ready  on  one  side  and 
the  other,  and  when  the  whole  world  knew  what  was  the  nature 
of  the  great  struggle  going  on  in  America.  Taking  the  begin 
ning  of  1863,  how  stands  the  conflict?  We  have  pressed  the  re 
bellion  out  of  Kentucky  and  through  Tennessee.  Grant  stands 
before  Vicksburg,  held  at  bay  by  the  army  of  Pemberton ;  Rose- 
cranz,  after  the  capture  of  Nashville,  has  pressed  foni#*d  to 
Murfreesboro,  but  is  still  held  out  of  East  Tennessee^B^  the 
army  of  Bragg.  The  army  of  the  Potomac  and  the  army  of  Lee, 
in  Virginia,  are  balanced,  the  one  against  the  other.  The  whole 
world  knows  that  that  exhausting  struggle  can  not  last  long 
without  deciding  in  favor  of  one  side  or  the  other.  That  the 
year  1863  is  big  with  the  fate  of  Union  and  of  liberty,  every 
intelligent  man  in  the  world  knows — that  on  one  side  it  is  a 


214  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


struggle  for  nationality  and  human  rights.  There  is  not  in  all 
Europe  a  petty  despot  who  lives  by  grinding  the  masses  of  the 
people,  who  does  not  know  that  Lincoln  and  the  Union  are  his 
enemies.  There  is  not  a  friend  of  freedom  in  all  Europe  who 
does  not  know  that  Lincoln  and  the  loyal  army  are  fighting  in  the 
cause  of  free  government  for  all  the  world.  Now,  in  that  con 
test,  where  are  you,  Judge  Thurman  ?  It  is  a  time  when  we 
need  men  and  money,  when  we  need  to  have  our  people  in 
spired  with  hope  and  confidence.  Your  sons  and  brothers  are 
in  the  field.  Their  success  depends  upon  your  conduct  at  home. 

The  men  who  are  to  advise  you  what  to  do  have  upon  them  a 
dreadful  responsibility  to  give  you  wise  and  patriotic  advice. 
Judge  Thurman,  in  the  speech  1  am  quoting  from,  says : 

"  But  now,  my  friends,  I  shall  not  deal  with  obscure  newspa 
pers  or  obscure  men.  What  a  private  citizen  like  Allen  G. 
Thurman  may  have  said  in  1861  is  a  matter  of  indifference." 

Ah,  no,  Judge  Thurman,  the  Union  party  does  not  propose  to 
allow  your  record  to  go  without  investigation  because  you  are  a 
private  citizen.  I  know  you  held  no  official  position  under  the 
government  at  the  time  I  speak  of;  but,  sir,  you  had  for  years 
been  a  leading,  able,  and  influential  man  in  the  great'party  which 
had  often  carried  your  State.  You  were  acting  under  grave  re 
sponsibilities.  More  than  that,  during,  that  year  1863,  you  were 
more  than  a  private  citizen.  You  were  one  of  the  delegates  to 
the  State  convention  of  that  year ;  you  were  one  of  the  commit 
tee  that  forms  your  party  platform  in  that  convention  ;  you  were 
one  of  the  central  committee  that  carries  on  the  canvass  in  the 
absence  of  your  standard-bearers ;  and  you  were  one  of  the  ora 
tors  of  the  party.  No,  sir,  you  were  not  a  private  citizen  in  1863. 
You  were  one  of  the  leading  and  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  your 
party  in  that  year,  speaking  through  the  months  of  July,  August, 
September,  and  October,  in  behalf  of  the  candidate  of  the  peace 

ou  can  not  escape  as  a  private  citizen, 
sir,  in  the  beginning  of  that  eventful  year/there  rises  in 
Congress  the  ablest  member  of  the  peace  party,  to  advise  Con 
gress  and  to  advise  the  people,  and  what  does  he  say  ? 

"  You  have  not  conquered  the  South.  You  never  will.  It  is 
not  in  the  nature  of  things  possible,  especially  under  your  aus 
pices.  Money  you  have  expended  without  limit ;  blood  you  have 
poured  out  like  water." 


APPENDIX.  215 


Now,  mark  the  taunt — the  words  of  discouragement  that  were 
sent  to  the  people  and  to  the  army  of  the  Union :  • 

"  Defeat,  debt,  taxation,  sepulchers — these  are  your  trophies. 
Can  you  get  men  to  enlist  now  at  any  price?" 

Listen  again  to  the  words  that  were  sent  to  the  army  and  to 
the  loyal  people : 

"Ah,  sir,  it  is  easier  to  die  at  home." 

We  knew  that,  Judge  Thurman,  better  than  Mr.  Vallandigham 
knew  it.  We  had  seen  our  comrades  falling  and  dying  alone  on 
the  mountain  side  and  in  the  swamps — dying  in  the  prison-pens 
of  the  Confederacy  and  in  the  crowded  hospitals,  North  and 
South.  Yet  he  had  the  face  to  stand  up  in  Congress,  and  say  to 
the  people  and  the  world,  "Ah,  sir,  it  is  easier  to  die  at  home. 
Judge  Thurman,  where  are  you  at  this  time  ?  He  goes  to  Co 
lumbus  to  the  State  convention,  on  the  llth  of  June  of  that 
year,  in  all  the  capacities  in  which  I  have  named  him — as  a  dele 
gate,  as  committeeman,  and  as  an  orator — and  he  spends  that 
whole  summer  in  advocating  the  election  of  the  man  who  taunted 
us  with  the  words,  "  Defeat,  debt,  taxation,  sepulchers — these 
are  your  trophies." 

In  every  canvass  you  know  there  is  a  key-note.  What  was 
the  key-note  of  that  canvass?  Who  sounded  it?  It  came  over 
to  us  from  Canada.  On  the  15th  of  July,  1863,  Mr.  Vallandig 
ham  wrote,  accepting  the  nomination  of  that  convention  of 
Judge  Thurman's.  He  said,  in  his  letter: 

"  If  this  civil  war  is  to  terminate  only  by  the  subjugation  or 
submission  of  the  South  to  force  and  arms,  the  infant  of  to-day 
will  not  live  to  see  the  end  of  it.  No;  in  another  way  only  can 
it  be  brought  to  a  close.  Traveling  a  thousand  miles  and  more, 
through  nearly  half  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  sojourning 
for  a  time  at  widely  different  points,  I  met  not  one  man,  woman, 
or  child  who  was  not  resolved  to  perish,  rather  than  yield  to  the 
pressure  of  arms,  even  in  the  most  desperate  extremity.  And 
whatever  may  and  must  be  the  varying  fortune  of  the  war,  in  all 
of  which  I  recognize  the  hand  of  Providence  pointing  visibly  to 
the  ultimate  issue  of  this  great  trial  of  the  States  and  people  of 
America,  they  are  better  prepared  now,  every  way,  to  make  good 
their  inexorable  purpose  than  at  any  period  since  the  beginning 
of  the  struggle." 

That  was  the  key-note  of  the  campaign.     It  was  the  platform 


216  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


of  the  candidate  in  behalf  of  whom  Judge  Thurman  went 
through  the  State  of  Ohio — all  over  the  State — in  July,  August, 
and  September,  up  to  the  night  of  the  12th  of  October — making 
his  la?t  speech  just  twenty-four  hours  before  the  glad  news  went 
out  to  all  the  world,  over  the  wires,  that  the  people  of  Ohio  had 
elected  John  Brough  by  over  one  hundred  thousand  majority, 
in  preference  to  the  author  of  the  sentiment,  "Defeat,  debt, 
taxation,  sepulchers." 

And  how  true  was  that  sentiment  which  had  been  indorsed 
by  the  peace  party.  I  do  not  question  the  motives  of  men  in 
any  of  my  speeches.  I  merely  ask  as  to  the  facts.  "  Better  pre 
pared,"  said  he,  "than,  ever  before,"  on  the  ]5th  of  July.  On 
that  theory,  they  went  through  the  canvass  to  the  end.  What 
was  the  fact?  On  the  15th  of  July,  1803,  Grant  had  captured 
Vicksburg.  That  gallant,  glorious  son  of  Ohio,  who  perished 
afterward  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  whose  honored  remains 
now  sleep  near  his  old  home  on  the  lake  shore,  General  James 
B.  McPherson,  on  the  4th  of  July,  had  ridden  at  the  head  of  a 
triumphant  host  into  Vicksburg.  On  the  7th  of  July,  Banks  had 
captured  Port  Hudson.  A  few  days  afterward,  a  party  of  serc- 
naders,  calling  upon  Mr.  Lincoln,  saw  that  good  man,  who  had 
been  bowed  down  with  the  weight  and  cares  of  office ;  they  saw 
his  haggard  face  lit  up  with  joy  and  cheer,  and  he  said  to  them : 
"At  last,  Grant  is  in  Vicksburg.  Th£  Father  of  Waters,  the  Mis 
sissippi,  again  flows  unvexed  to  the  sea." 

On  the  15th  of  July,  what  else  had  happened?  The  army  of 
Lee,  defiantly  crowding  up  into  Pennsylvania,  and  claiming  to 
go  where  it  pleased,  and  take  what  it  pleased,  only  doubting 
whether  they  would  first  capture  Washington,  Baltimore,  Phila 
delphia,  or  New  York,  and  concluding  finally  that  it  was  a  mat 
ter  of  military  strategy  first  to  capture  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
— that  army,  which  had  invaded  Pennsylvania  under  such  flat 
tering  auspices,  was,  on  the  15th  of  July,  when  Mr.  Vallan- 
digham's  letter  was  written,  straggling  back  over  the  swollen 
waters  of  the  Potomac,  glad  to  escape  from  the  pursuing  armies 
of  the  Union,  with  the  loss  of  thirty  thousand  of  its  bravest  and 
best,  killed,  wounded,  and  captured,  and  utterly  unable  ever 
after  during  the  war  to  set  foot  upon  free  soil  except  in  such 
fragments  as  were  captured  by  our  armies  in  subsequent  battles 
That  was  the  condition  of  the  two  great  armies  when  Mr.  Val- 


APPENDIX.  217 


landigham  uttered  that  sentiment;  and  on  that  sentiment  my 
friend,  Judge  Thurman,  argued  his  case  through  all  that  sum 
mer. 

But  wisdom  was  not  learned  even  at  the  close  of  1863  by  this 
peace  party.  Things  were  greatly  changed  in  the  estimation  of 
every  loyal  man.  We  had  now  not  merely  got  possession  of  the 
Mississippi  river — we  had  not  merely  driven  the  army  of  Lee 
out  of  Pennsylvania,  never  again  to  return,  but  the  battle  of 
Mission  Ridge  and  the  battle  of  Knoxville  had  been  fought. 
That  important  strategic  region,  East  Tennessee,  was  now  within 
our  lines.  From  that  abode  of  loyalty,  the  mountain  region  of 
East  Tennessee,  we  could  pierce  to  the  very  heart  of  the  South 
ern  Confederacy.  We  were  no\v  in  possession  of  the  interior 
lines,- giving  us  an  immense  advantage,  and  we  were  in  a  condi 
tion  to  march  southeast  to  Atlanta  and  northeast  to  Richmond ; 
yet  with  this  changed  state  of  affairs,  where  is  my  friend  Judge 
Thurman?  Advising  the  people?  What  is  he  advising  them 
to  do?  He  says  Allen  G.  Thurman  was  a  private  citizen.  Not 
so.  Tie  held  no  official  position,  I  know,  under  the  government. 
Fortunately  for  the  people  of  this  country,  they  were  not  giving 
official  positions  in  Ohio  to  men  of  his  opinions  and  sentiments 
at  that  time.  [A  voice,  "  They  won't  now,  either."]  But  he  was 
made  delegate  at  large  from  the  State  of  Ohio  to  the  convention 
to  meet  at  Chicago  to  nominate  a  president  and  form  a  platform 
on  which  that  nominee  should  stand.  Mr.  Vallandigham  was  a 
district  delegate  and  one  of  the  committee  to  form  a  platform, 
and  he  drew  the  most  important  resolution.  The  principal 
plank  of  that  platform  is  of  his  construction.  You  are  perfectly 
familiar  writh  it.  It  merely  told  the  people  that  the  war  had 
been  for  four  years  a  failure,  and  advised  them  to  prepare  to  ne 
gotiate  with  this  Confederate  nation  on  our  Southern  borders. 
Well,  when  this  advice  was  given  to  the  Nation,  we  were  still  in 
the  midst  of  the  war,  and  were  prosecuting  it  with  every  pros 
pect  of  success.  What  had  been  accomplished  in  1863  enabled 
us,  with  great  advantages,  to  press  upon  the  rebellion.  I  re 
member  well  when  I  first  read  that  resolution  declaring  the  war 
a  four  years'  failure.  It  came  to  the  army  in  which  I  was  serving 
on  the  same  day  that  the  news  came  to  us  that  Sherman  had 
captured  Atlanta.  We  heard  of  both  together.  The  war  a  four 
years'  failure,  said  the  Chicago  convention.  I  well  remember 


218  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

how  that  evening  our  pickets  shouted  the  good  news  to  the 
pickets  of  the  enemy.  What  good  news  ?  News  that  a  conven 
tion  representing  nearly  one-half  of  the  people  of  the  North 
had  concluded  that  the  war  was  a  failure  ?  No  such  news  was 
shouted  from  our  picket  line.  The  good  news  that  they  shouted 
was  that  Sherman  had  captured  Atlanta. 

This,  my  friends,  is  a  part  of  that  record  which  we  are  invited 
to  examine  by  my  friend  Judge  Thurman.  I  ask  you  to  apply 
to  it  the  principle  that  whoever,  during  the  great  struggle,  was 
unfaithful  to  the  cause  of  the  country  is  not  to  be  trusted  to  bo 
one  of  the  men  to  harvest  and  secure  the  legitimate  fruits  of 
the  victory,  which  the  Union  people  and  the  Union  army  won 
during  the  rebellion.  In  the  great  struggle  in  1863  in  Ohio,  I 
had  not  an  opportunity  to  hear  the  eloquent  voice  of  vlolm 
Brough,  which  I  knew  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  people  like  the 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  but  I  read,  as  occasion  offered,  his  speeches, 
and  1  saw  not  one  in  which  he  did  not  warn  the  young  men — 
warn  the  Democrats  of  Ohio — that  if  they  remained  through 
that  struggle  opposed  to  this  country,  the  conduct  particularly 
of  leading  men  would  never  be  forgotten,  and  never  forgiven. 
Now,  in  this  canvass,  I  merely  have  to  ask  the  people  to  remem 
ber  the  prediction  of  honest  John  Brough,  and  see  that  that 
prediction  is  made  good. 

It  is  not  worth  while  now  to  consider,  or  undertake  to  predict, 
when  we  shall  cease  to  talk  of  the  records  of  those  men.  It 
does  seem  to  me  that  it  will,  for  many  years  to  come,  be  the  voice 
of  the  Union  people  of  the  State  that  for  a  man  who  as  a  leader — 
as  a  man  having  control  in  political  affairs — that  for  such  a  man 
who  has  opposed  the  interests  of  his  country  during  the  war, 
"  the  post  of  honor  is  the  private  station."  When  shall  we  stop 
talking  about  it  ?  When  ought  we  to  stop  talking  about  that 
record,  when  leading  men  come  before  the  people  ?  Certainly 
not  until  every  question  arising  out  of  the  rebellion,  and  every 
question  which  is  akin  to  the  questions  which  made  the  rebel 
lion,  is  settled.  Perhaps  these  men  will  be  remembered  long 
after  these  questions  are  settled ;  perhaps  their  conduct  will  long 
be  remembered.  What  was  the  result  of  this  advice  to  the  peo 
ple  ?  It  prolonged  the  war ;  it  made  it  impossible  to  get  recruits ; 
it  made  it  necessary  that  we  should  have  drafts.  They  opposed 
the  drafts,  and  that  made  rioting,  which  required  that  troops 


APPEEDIX.  219 


should  be  called  from  all  the  armies  in  the  field,  to  preserve  the 
peace  at  home.  From  forty  to  a  hundred  thousand  men  in  the 
different  States  of  this  Union  were  kept  within  the  loyal  States 
to  preserve  the  peace  at  home.  And  now,  when  they  talk  to  you 
about  the  debt  and  about  the  burden  of  taxation,  remember  how 
it  happened  that  the  war  was  so  prolonged,  that  it  was  so  expen 
sive,  and  that  the  debt  grew  to  such  large  proportions. 

There  are  other  things,  too,  to  be  remembered.  I  recollect 
that  at  the  close  of  the  last  session  of  Congress,  I  went  over  to 
Arlington,  the  estate  formerly  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  and  I  saw  there 
the  great  National  cemetery  into  which  that  beautiful  place  has 
been  converted.  I  saw  the  graves  of  18,000  Union  soldiers, 
marked  with  white  head-boards,  denoting  the  name  of  each  oc 
cupant,  and  his  regiment  and  company.  Passing  over  those 
broad  acres,  covered  with  the  graves  of  the  loyal  men  who  had 
died  in  defense  of  their  country,  I  came  upon  that  which  was 
even  more  touching  than  these  18,000  head-boards.  I  found  a 
large  granite,  with  this  inscription  upon  it : 

"  Beneath  this  stone  repose  the  remains  of  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  eleven  unknown  soldiers,  gathered,  after  the  war, 
from  the  field  of  Bull  Run  and  the  route  to  the  Rappahannock. 
Their  remains  could  not  be  identified,  but  their  names  and  deaths 
are  recorded  in  the  archives  of  their  country,  and  its  grateful 
citizens  honor  them  as  of  their  noble  army  of  martyrs.  May 
they  rest  in  peace.  September,  1866." 

I  say  to  those  men  who  were  instrumental  and  prominent  in 
prolonging  the  war,  by  opposing  it,  that  when  honeyed  words 
and  soft  phrases  can  erase  from  the  enduring  granite  inscriptions 
like  these,  the  American  people  may  forget  their  conduct;  but 
I  believe  they  will  not  do  so  until  some  such  miracle  is  accom 
plished. 

That  is  all  I  desire  to  say  this  afternoon  upon  the  record  of  the 
peace  party  of  Ohio.  A  few  words  upon  another  topic  that  is 
much  discussed  in  this  canvass,  and  that  is  the  proposed  amend 
ment  to  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  At  the  beginning, 
I  desire  to  say,  that  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding — and  I 
suppose  there  is  no  misunderstanding  upon  that  subject — that  I 
am  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  that  amendment,  and  I  trust  that 
every  Union  man,  and  every  Democrat  too,  will  vote  for  it  next 
October.  And  why  do  1  say  this  ?  Let  us  discuss  it  a  moment. 


220  LIFE    OP   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


It  consists  of  four  parts.  First,  it  disfranchises  any  man  who  be 
comes  a  resident  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  or  who  was  a  citizen  of 
Ohio,  who  fought  in  the  rebellion  against  the  country.  Isn't 
that  right?  If  you  want  that  to  go  into  your  constitution,  vote 
for  the  amendment.  It  disfranchises  every  man  who,  being  lia 
ble  to  the  draft,  when  the  country  needed  them  at  the  front — 
when  the  soldiers  doing  their  duty  at  the  front  were  anxiously 
looking  for  their  aid — it  disfranchises  every  man  who,  at  such 
time,  ran  away  to  escape  the  draft.  Isn't  that  right?  In  the 
next  place,  it  disfranchises  every  man  who  deserted  his  comrades 
at  the  front,  and  ran  away  to  vote  the  peace  party  ticket  at  tho 
rear.  Isn't  that  right?  It  disfranchises  him  whether  he  voted 
that  ticket  or  not,  I  may  observe.  If  you  want  these  provisions 
in  your  State  constitution,  vote  for  the  amendment.  In  the  next 
place,  it  gives  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  the  negroes  of  Ohio. 
Mark  the  phrase  :  I  have  not  said  impartial  suffrage  or  manhood 
suffrage.  I  wish  to  be  understood.  It  gives  the  suffrage  to  the 
negroes  of  Ohio  upon  the  same  terms  that  it  is  given  to  white 
men.  The  reason  I  am  in  favor  of  that  is  because  it  is  right. 

Let  me  have  the  ears  of  my  Democratic  friends  on  that  ques 
tion  a  moment.  If  Democracy  has  any  meaning  now  that  is 
good — any  favorable  meaning — it  is  that  Democracy  is  a  govern 
ment  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people.  It  is  a 
government  in  which  every  man  who  has  to  obey  the  laws  has  a 
part  in  making  the  laws,  unless  disqualified  by  crime.  Then  the 
proposition  I  am  for  is  a  Democratic  proposition.  Again,  it  is 
according  to  the  principles  upon  which  good  men  have  always 
desired  to  see  our  institutions  placed,  namely,  that  all  men  are 
entitled  to  equal  rights  before  the  law.  They  are  not  equal  in 
any  other  respect.  Nobody  claims  that  they  are.  But  we  pro 
pose  to  give  to  each  man  the  same  rights  which  you  want  for 
yourself.  It  is,  in  short,  obeying  the  rule  of  the  Great  Teacher: 
"  Do  unto  others  as  ye  would  that  others  should  do  unto  you." 
Abraham  Lincoln  said:  "  No  man  is  good  enough  to  govern  an 
other  without  that  other  man's  consent."  Is  not  that  true? 
Good  as  you  think  you  are,  are  you  good  enough  absolutely  to 
govern  another  man  without  that  other  man's  consent  ?  If  you 
really  think  so,  just  change  shoes  with  that  other  man,  and  see 
if  you  are  willing  to  be  governed  yourself,  without  your  consent, 
by  somebody  else.  The  declaration  of  independence  says  gov- 


APPENDIX.  221 


ernmeiits  derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov 
erned.  Now,  do  n't  you  see  there  is  no  way  by  which  one  man 
can  give  consent  to  be  governed  by  another  man  in  a  republican 
government  except  by  the  ballot?  There  is  no  way  provided  by 
which  you  can  consent  to  give  powers  to  a  government  except 
by  the  ballot.  Therefore  every  man  governed  under  our  system 
is  entitled  to  the  ballot. 

So  much  for  principle.  One  word  now  as  to  why  our  Demo 
cratic  friends  oppose  it.  I  remember  their  opposing  the  exten 
sion  of  suffrage  once  under  circumstances  that  made  many  of  us 
think  they  were  doing  wrong.  During  the  years  1861,  1862, 
1863,  and  1864,  I  was  a  citizen  of  the  Fifteenth  ward,  in  Cincin 
nati;  I  had  lived  there  ever  since  it  was  a  ward.  All  the  prop 
erty  I  had  in  the  wrorld  was  taxed  there,  real  or  personal ;  and 
there  was  a  party  in  Ohio  of  loyal  Union  men,  who  said  I  and 
others  who  were  with  me  ought  to  have  a  right  to  vote,  although 
I  was  not  in  the  Fifteenth  ward,  but  was  serving  the  country  in 
the  field  against  the  rebels.  The  Democratic  party  in  Ohio — 
these  very  peace  men — said  no.  Why  did  they  say  I  should  not 
vote  ?  I  never  heard  but  one  good  reason,  and  that  was  the  ap 
prehension  they  had  that  if  the  soldiers  did  vote,  they  would  n't 
vote  the  Democratic  ticket.  That's  what's  the  matter.  Now, 
1  suspect  we  have  the  same  difficulty  on  this  proposition;  I  sus 
pect  that  the  real  trouble  is  that  they  fear  if  the  colored  man 
has  a  vote,  they  have  dealt  so  hardly  with  him  these  last  few 
years  that  when  he  comes  to  vote  he  will  vote  against  the  Dem 
ocratic  party.  That's  what's  the  matter.  Why,  for  the  sake 
of  political  power,  these  Democrats  of  Ohio  have  not  been  un 
willing  to  look  kindly  toward  the  colored  man.  Do  you  remem 
ber  we  once  had  black  laws  in  Ohio  which  kept  the  colored  men 
out  of  the  State?  Who  repealed  those  laws?  Why  did  they  do 
it?  The  Democratic  party  did  it,  because  they  could  get  politi 
cal  power  by  it.  I  suspect  that  if  it  were  quite  certain  that  the 
colored  vote  would  elect  Allen  G.  Thurman  Governor  of  Ohio, 
our  Democratic  friends  would  not  object  to  it  at  all.  What, 
then,  do  I  say  to  the  Union  men  ?  This  objection  may  be  very 
good  for  the  Democrats,  but  it  is  not  a  wise  one  for  you. 

I  commend  to  you  Union  men  who  are  a  little  weak  on  this 
question,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  a  little  strong,  the  example  of 
the  Union  men  of  the  country  during  the  war.  Abraham  Lin- 


222  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


coin  thought,  in  1862,  it  was  wise  to  proclaim  freedom  to  the 
slaves.  Many  good  Union  men  thought  it  was  unwise — thought 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  going  too  far  or  too  fast — but  the  sequel  justi 
fied  the  wisdom  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Again,  he  thought  it  was 
wise  that  colored  men  should  be  placed  in  our  armies.  There  were 
good  soldiers  and  good  Union  men  who  thought  it  was  unwise. 
They  feared  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  going  too  fast  or  too  far,  but 
events  justified  it.  Now,  everybody  agrees  that  in  both  cases 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  right.  Now,  the  example  I  commend  to  our 
Union  friends  who  are  doubting  on  this  great  question  is  the  ex 
ample  of  those  Union  men  during  the  war  who  doubted  the  wis 
dom  of  these  other  measures.  Greatly  as  they  were  opposed  to  the 
proclamation  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  strongly  as  they  were  opposed 
to  the  enlistment  of  colored  soldiers,  I  say  to  you  I  never  heard 
of  one  good  Union  man,  in  the  army  or  out  of  it,  who  left  his 
party  because  of  that  difference  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  I  commend 
that  example  to  the  Union  men  who  now  doubt  about  colored 
suffrage.  The  truth  is,  that  every  step  made  in  advance  toward 
the  standard  of  the  right  has  in  the  event  always  proved  a  safe 
and  wise  step.  Every  step  toward  the  right  has  proved  a  step 
toward  the  expedient;  in  short,  that  in  politics,  in  morals,  in 
public  and  private  life,  the  right  is  always  expedient. 
I  thank  you,  fellow-citizens,  for  your  kind  attention. 


Speech  of  GOVERNOR  HAYES,  on  his  re-nomination,  deliv 
ered  June  23, 1869. 

Twice  since  the  organization  of  existing  political  parties  the 
people  of  Ohio  have  trusted  the  law-making  power  of  the  State 
in  the  hands  of  the  Democratic  party.  They  first  tried  the  ex 
periment  twelve  years  ago,  and  such  were  the  results  that  ten 
years  elapsed  before  they  ventured  upon  a  repetition  of  it.  Two 
years  ago,  in  a  time  of  reaction,  which  was  general  throughout 
the  country,  the  Democratic  party,  by  a  minority  of  the  popular 
vote,  having  large  advantages  in  the  apportionment,  obtained 


APPENDIX.  223 


complete  control  of  the  legislature  in  both  of  its  branches.  They 
came  into  power,  proclaiming  that  the  past  ought  to  be  forgot 
ten  ;  that  old  issues  and  divisions  should  be  laid  aside;  that  new 
ideas  and  new  measures  required  attention;  and  they  were  par 
ticularly  emphatic  and  earnest  in  declaring  that  the  enormous 
burdens  of  debt  and  taxation  under  which  the  people  were 
struggling  made  retrenchment  and  economy  the  supreme  duty 
of  the  hour. 

These  were  their  promises,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  kept  is  now  before  the  people  for  their  judgment.  Disre 
garding  the  well-known  and  solemnly-expressed  will  of  Ohio, 
they  began  the  business  of  their  first  session  by  passing  fruitless 
resolutions  to  rescind  the  ratification  of  the  14th  amendment  to 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 

They  placed  on  the  statute  book  visible  admixture  bills,  to  de 
prive  citizens  of  the  right  of  suffrage — a  constitutional  right  long 
enjoyed  and  perfectly  well  settled  by  repeated  decisions  of  the 
highest  court  having  jurisdiction  of  the  question. 

They  repealed  the  law  allowing,  after  the  usual  residence,  the 
disabled  veterans  of  the  Union  army  to  vote  in  the  township  in 
which  the  National  Soldiers'  Home  is  situated ;  and  enacted  a 
law  designed  to  deprive  of  the  right  of  suffrage  a  large  number 
of  young  men  engaged  in  acquiring  an  education  at  "  any  school, 
seminary,  academy,  college,  university,  or  other  institution  of 
learning."  To  prevent  citizens  who  were  deprived  of  their  con 
stitutional  rights  by  these  acts  from  obtaining  prompt  relief  in 
the  Supreme  Court,  they  passed  a  law  prohibiting  that  court  from 
taking  up  causes  on  its  docket  according  to  its  own  judgment  of 
what  was  demanded  by  public  justice,  in  any  case  "  except  where 
the  person  seeking  relief  had  been  convicted  of  murder  in  the 
first  degree,  or  of  a  crime  the  punishment  of  which  was  confine 
ment  in  the  penitentiary." 

I  believe  it  is  the  general  judgment  of  the  people  of  Ohio  that 
the  passage  of  these  measures,  unconstitutional  as  some  of  them 
are,  and  unjust  as  they  all  are,  was  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  classes  of  citizens  disfranchised  by  them  do  not  commonly 
vote  with  the  Democratic  party.  The  Republican  party  con 
demns  all  such  legislation,  and  demands  its  repeal. 

On  the  important  subject  of  suffrage,  General  Grant,  in  his 
inaugural  message,  expresses  the -convictions  of  the  Eepublican 


224  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

party.  He  says:  "The  question  of  suffrage  is  one  which  is 
likely  to  agitate  the  public  so  long  as  a  portion  of  the  citizens 
of  the  Nation  are  excluded  from  its  privileges  in  any  State.  It 
seems  to  me  very  desirable  that  this  question  should  be  settled 
now,  and  I  entertain  the  hope  and  express  the  desire  that  it 
may  be  by  the  ratification  of  the  fifteenth  amendment  to  the 
constitution." 

During  the  canvass  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  late 
Democratic  legislature  the  Republicans  were  charged  with  having 
used  $800,000,  raised  for  the  relief  of  soldiers'  families,  to  pay 
the  State  debt,  and  this  charge  was  insisted  upon,  notwithstand 
ing  a  majority  of  the  Democratic  members  had  supported  the 
measure.  The  idea  was  everywhere  held  out  that  if  the  Demo 
cratic  party  were  successful  this  money  would  be  restored  to  the 
relief  fund  and  expended  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers.  The 
failure  to  redeem  this  pledge  is  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  the 
legislature,  by  a  strictly  party  vote  in  the  Senate,  refused  to  pro 
vide  for  the  support  of  soldiers'  destitute  orphans  at  homes  to 
be  established  without  expense  to  the  State  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  patriotic  and  charitable  people. 

But  of  all  the  pledges  upon  which  the  Democratic  party  ob 
tained  power  in  the  last  legislature,  the  most  important,  and 
those  in  regard  to  which  the  just  expectations  of  the  people  have 
been  most  signally  disappointed,  are  their  pledges  in  relation  to 
financial  affairs — to  expenditure,  to  debt,  and  to  taxation.  Upon 
this  subject  the  people  are  compelled  to  feel  a  very  deep  interest. 
The  flush  times  of  the  war  have  been  followed  by  a  financial  re 
action,  and  for  the  last  three  or  four  years  the  country  has  been 
on  the  verge  of  a  financial  crisis.  The  burdens  of  taxation  bear 
heavily  upon  labor  and  upon  capital.  The  Democratic  party, 
profuse  alike  of  accusations  against  their  adversaries:,  and  of 
promises  of  retrenchment  and  reform,  were  clothed  with  power 
to  deal  with  the  heaviest  part  of  these  burdens,  viz:  with  the 
expenditures,  debts,  assessments,  and  taxes  which  are  authorized 
by  State  legislation.  The  results  of  their  two  years  of  power  are 
now  before  the  people.  They  are  contained  in  the  05th  and  66th 
volumes  of  the  Laws  of  Ohio.  Let  any  Republican  diligently 
study  these  volumes,  and  he  will  fully  comprehend  the  meaning 
of  Job  when  he  said,  "  Oh,  that  mine  adversary  had  written  a 
book."  No  intelligent  man  can  read  carefully  these  volumes, 


APPENDIX.  225 


and  note  the  number  and  character  of  the  laws  increasing  the 
expenses  and  liabilities  of  the  State  and  authorizing  additional 
debts  and  additional  taxation  for  city  and  village,  for  county 
and  township  purposes,  without  having  the  conviction  forced 
upon  him  that  the  gentlemen  who  enacted  these  laws  hold  to 
the  opinion  that  the  way  to  increase  wealth  is  to  increase  taxa 
tion,  and  that  public  debts  are  public  blessings. 

When  the  late  Democratic  Legislature  assembled  they  found 
the  revenue  raised  yearly  in  Ohio  by  taxation  to  pay  the  interest 
on  the  State  and  local  debts  and  for  State  and  local  expenditures 
was  $20,253,615.34.  This  is  at  the  rate  of  almost  forty  dollars 
for  every  vote  cast  in  the  State  at  the  last  election,  and  exceeds 
seven  dollars  for  each  inhabitant  of  the  State.  Of  this  large 
sum  collected  annually  by  direct  taxation  less  than  one-fifth  or 
13,981,099.79  was  for  State  purposes,  and  more  than  four-fifths 
or  $10,272,515.34  was  for  local  purposes.  The  increase  of  taxa 
tion  for  State  purposes  during  the  last  few  years  has  been  small, 
but  many  items  of  taxation  for  local  purposes  are  increasing 
rapidly.  The  taxation,  for  example,  in  the  thirty-three  cities  of 
the  State  has  increased  until,  according  to  the  report  of  the  aud 
itor  of  State,  "  in  several  the  rates  of  levy  exceed  three  percent., 
and  the  average  rate  in  all  is  but  little  short  of  three  per  cent." 
In  this  condition  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  State,  and  in  the 
embarrassed  and  depressed  condition  of  the  business  of  the 
country,  the  duty  of  the  legislature  was  plain.  They  were  to 
see  that  no  unnecessary  additional  burdens  were  imposed  upon 
the  people — that  all  wholesome  restraints  and  limitations  upon 
the  power  of  local  authorities  to  incur  debts  and  levy  taxes 
should  be  preserved  and  enforced,  and  especially  that  no  in 
crease  of  liabilities  should  be  authorized  except  in  cases  of  press 
ing  necessity. 

Now  consider  the  facts.  These  gentlemen  professed  to  be 
scrupulously  strict  in  their  observance  of  the  requirements  of 
the  constitution.  Yet  under  provisions  which  contemplate  one 
legislative  session  in  two  years  they  held  two  sessions  in  the  same 
year,  and  three  sessions  in  their  term  of  two  years.  They  were 
in  session  two  hundred  and  sixty  days — longer  than  was  ever  be 
fore  known  in  Ohio,  and  at  an  expense  of  $250,624.10 — more 
than  double  that  of  their  Republican  predecessors. 

They  created  between  thirty  and  forty  new  offices  at  a  cost  to 


226  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

the  people  for  salaries,  fees,  and  expenses  of  at  least  $75,000  per 
annum.  They  added  to  the  State  liabilities  for  various  purposes 
about  $1,500,000.  In  order  to  avoid  an  increase  of  taxes  levied 
for  State  purposes  they  diminished  the  sum  levied  to  pay  the 
State  debt,  and  increased  the  levy  for  other  State  purposes  al 
most  $600,000. 

The  acts  of  the  last  legislature  in  relation  to  local  debts  and 
local  taxes  are  of  the  most  extraordinary  character.  These  acts 
relate  to  raising  money  for  county  purposes,  for  township  pur 
poses,  for  city  and  village  purposes,  and  for  special  purposes. 
These  taxes  or  debts  are  levied  or  incurred  under  the  direction 
of  county  commissioners,  township  trustees,  or  of  city  or  village 
councils,  who  derive  their  authority  exclusively  from  State  legis 
lation.  The  State  legislature  has  therefore  the  control  of  the 
whole  matter.  Now,  the  general  statement  which  I  wish  to  make, 
and  which  I  believe  is  sustained  by  the  facts,  is,  that  the  late 
Democratic  legislature  authorized  greater  local  pecuniary  bur 
dens  to  be  imposed  upon  the  people  of  Ohio,  without  their  con 
sent,  than  were  ever  before  authorized  by  any  General  Assembly, 
either  in  peace  or  war,  since  the  organization  of  our  State  gov 
ernment. 

Sixty  or  seventy  different  acts  were  passed  authorizing  debts 
to  be  contracted,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  more  than 
$25,000,000.  A  large  part  of  them  bear  eight  per  cent,  interest, 
and  a  very  small  part  bear  less  than  seven  and  three-tenths  per 
cent,  interest.  And  they  passed  seventy  or  eighty  acts  by  which 
additional  taxes  were  authorized  to  the  amount  of  over 
$10,000,000. 

Now  it  is  to  be  hoped,  as  to  a  considerable  part  of  the  local 
debts  and  local  taxes  authorized  by  the  late  Democratic  legisla 
ture,  that  the  people  will  not  be  burdened  with  them.  It  is  to  bo 
hoped  that  county  commissioners,  city  councils,  and  other  local 
boards,  will  show  greater  moderation  and  economy  in  the  exer 
cise  of  their  dangerous  and  oppressive  powers  under  the  laws  than 
was  exhibited  in  their  enactment.  But  in  any  event,  nothing  i& 
more  certain  than  that  the  people  of  Ohio  have  great  reason  to  ap 
prehend  that  the  evil  consequences  of  these  laws  will  be  felt 
in  their  swollen  tax  bills  for  many  years. 

It  is  probable  that  many  of  the  acts  to  which  I  have  alluded, 
creating  additional  offices,  incurring  State  liabilities,  and  au- 


APPENDIX.  227 


thorizing  local  debts  and  taxes  were  required  by  sound  policy. 
But  a  candid  investigation  will  show  that  the  larger  part  of  these 
enormous  burdens  of  expenditure,  debt,  and  taxation  could  and 
ought  to  have  been  avoided. 

The  last  legislature  afforded  examples  of  many  of  the  worst 
evils  to  which  legislative  bodies  are  liable — long  sessions,  exces 
sive  legislation,  unnecessary  expenditures,  and  recklessness  in 
authorizing  local  debts  and  local  taxes.  These  evils  "  have  in 
creased,  are  increasing,  and  ought  to  be  diminished."  Let  there 
be  reform  as  to  all  of  them.  Especially  let  the  people  of  all 
parties  insist  that  the  parent  evil — long  legislative  sessions — shall 
be  reformed  altogether.  Let  the  bad  precedent  of  long  sessions, 
set  by  the  last  legislature,  be  condemned,  and  the  practice  of 
short  sessions  established.  With  the  average  rate  of  taxation 
in  the  cities  and  large  towns  of  the  State — nearly  three  per 
cent. — legitimate  business  and  industry  can  not  continue  to 
thrive,  if  the  rate  of  taxation  continues  to  increase.  With  the 
rates  of  interest  for  public  debts  ranging  from  seven  and  three- 
tenths  per  cent,  to  eight  per  cent.,  the  reckless  increase  of  such 
debts  must  stop,  or  will  seriously  affect  the  prosperity  of  the 
State.  These  are  subjects  which  deserve,  and  which,  I  trust,  will 
receive,  the  profound  attention  of  the  people  in  the  pending  can 
vass. 

It  is  said  that  one  of  the  ablest  Democratic  members  of  the 
last  legislature  declared  at  its  close  that  "  enough  had  been  done 
to  keep  the  Democratic  party  out  of  power  in  Ohio  for  twenty 
years."  Let  the  Republican  press  and  the  Republican  speakers 
see  to  it  that  the  history  of  the  acts  of  that  body  be  spread  fully 
before  the  people,  and  I  entertain  no  doubt  that  the  declaration 
will  be  substantially  made  good. 

It  is  probable  that  the  discussions  of  the  present  canvass  will 
turn  more  upon  State  legislation  and  less  upon  National  affairs 
than  those  of  any  year  since  1861.  Neither  senators  nor  repre 
sentatives  in  Congress  are  to  be  chosen.  But  it  is  an  important 
State  election,  and  will  be  regarded  as  having  a  bearing  on  Na 
tional  politics.  The  Republicans  of  Ohio  heartily  approve  of  the 
principles  of  General  Grant's  inaugural  message,  and  are  grati 
fied  by  the  manner  in  which  he  is  dealing  with  the  leading  ques 
tions  of  the  first  three  months  of  his  administration. 

Under  President  Johnson,  Secretary  McCulloch  hoarded  mill- 


228  LIFE  OK   is  i -TIM-:  m -on  i>   it.   HAYES. 

ions  «if  ;'old,  l,o  enable  him  lo  ni:ii)il:i.iii  :i,  ureiched    rivalry  with 

iin-;'oiii  ^amblers  <»r  .\cw  Yorkciiy.    The  Nation  was  defrauded 

Of  It)  .pi   I  due ;,  and  the.  National  <ld)l,  increased  IVoin  November 

1,  l«07,  lo  November  I,  isr.x,  $:',:>, c, i>r,, i oi>.s-j.    (ienerai  (Irani  be- 

••an  his  financial  policy  by  revoking  his  predecessor's  ]  >ar<  lolis  ol' 
revenue  rohher.",  and  l>y  cult. in;1  down  e.\  pen  :•;<•:•;  in  :i,ll  d  irocl  ions; 
lUid  Secretary  I'.oiilvvcll  dhpo:esol  surplus  /'old  in  the  purchase 
ol'  intei-e:  I  bearing  bonds  to  the  amount,  ol'  two  millions  ;i,  week, 
:ilii|  in  ll'lH  first,  <|ii:u!ci'  i-cduccs  lllO  Naiioiiul  <ld»l  llioro  tliail 
lunily  million,-,  of  dolljtrs. 

Tin-  l.\vo  l)c,jnoc,nilJc,  JohiiHons,  Aiid!'<'vv  :i,nd  hVvrrdy,  furnished 
I  ln-ir  idea:;  ol'  ;i,  Iorci!'ii  policy  in  1  he,  .lohnsoii  ( 'l.-icciidon  lre:i,ly. 
'I  'In-y  undertook  to  8<'l  tie  tlu^  Ainerie:i,n  cl:iinis  against  Bngland 
on  iieeonnl  ol'  the  A  l;i,li;un:i,  oiitr:i«'e.  l»y  t  he  :i  \v:i  I'd  of  :i  ( 'oininis 
i  ion,  one  h:dl'  ol'  \vhos«i  nx-inhefs  wece  to  he  chosen  by  Midland 
n,n«l  t  hi-  other  linir  by  the  1'niled  St:i,tcs;  :ui<l,  in  c:ise  of  ud'ua, 
groomont,  >tn  unipinr  was  to  bo  chosen  by  lot.  That,  is  to  say,  a 
/Meal,  National  controversy,  involving  ^rra.ve  questions  of  interna- 
I  ion:i,l  l:i \v,  and  claimn  of  undoubl<:d  validity,  amounting  to  mill 
ions  of  money,  vv:i,s  to  be  decided  by  the  toss  ol'  a,  copper!  Tho 
iidminist,i-at  ion  of  (leneral  <  Irjtnl,  ci-uslied  the  disgrucefttl  tre:tty, 
and  proposes  to  de:i  I  \\  it  h  I'll  inland  on  1 1  i<r  principle  laid  down  in 
(Jonoral  <  1  rani's  inaugural.  The  I '  niled  States  will  t  reat,  a,ll  oilier 
N:il  ion::  "  as  e.)  nil  able  law  requires  individuals  to  deal  with  cadi 
ol.her;"  but,,  "  il'  ot  heir,  depart  IVoin  this  ride,  in  t  heir  dealings 
willi  us,  we  may  be  compelled  to  follow  their  precedent," 

(>n  the  ,"i. at  qiie>lion  ol  recoir.lructioii,  in  \vhat  a  masterly 
ua\  ami  \\ilh  what,  ma.rked  success  has  (lenei'a,!  (ii'a,nt's  a.dmin- 
i  ha.lioii  be("un.  < 'oii;rress  had  fixed  its  d:i,y  ol  a,djournm<^nt, 
:i,nd  all  plans  lor  reconstructing  the.  ihree  unrepresented  Sta.tes 

had     b.-en     polpolie<|      until      I1O.I       Deceml.er.        A  t,    t  h  is  j  U 1 1C  t  ioJI 

<  i.  in  ral  <!  ra.nl,  on  the  Vt  h  of  A  pril  la,st,.  sent,  lo  ( 'oii!!;ress  a,  specia.1 
message  rc(-ommendin;'1  that,  before  its  ad journmeiit  it  ta,ke  the 
ii-r.  ai\  ,  leps  lor  the  restoi'a.l  ion  of  the  Stale  of  V  irt.'inia  to  iis 
proper  relation',  to  (he  Union.  As  iho  ground  of  his  recom 
mendation  he  said:  "I  am  led  io  make  l.liis  recommendation 
from  I  he  Con  lid  eli  I  hope  and  belief  t  ha,i  the  people  of  thai  Stato 
are  now  rea,dy  to  cooi>erale  ^vith  the  Nation:il  <;overiime)if  ill 
I  ii  1 1 1"  i  ii"  1 1  a"a  i  n  into  such  relations  to  tu6  Union  as  it  oiirhl ,  a,s 
d  .11  a:  po,  ible  lo  e  lahli.  h  and  maintain,  a.nd  io  ;'i\<'  to  all  itH 


APPENDIX.  220 


people  those  equal  rights  under  the  law  which  were  asserted  in 
the  declaration  of  independence,  in  the  words  of  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  of  its  sons." 

The  message  of  the  president  was  referred,  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  to  the  Committee  on  Reconstruction.  That 
committee  the  next  day  reported  a  bill  for  the  reconstruction  of 
Virginia,  and  also  of  Mississippi  and  Texas.  The  character  of 
the  bill  sufficiently  appears  by  the  first  two  sections  relating  to 
Virginia: 

11  Be  it  enacted  by  ike  Senate  and  Ho**e  of  Representative*  of  ike 
United  Stales  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  at  such  time  as  he  may  deem  best  for  the 
public  interest,  may  submit  the  constitution  which  was  framed 
convention  which  met  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  Tues 
day,  the  3d  day  of  December,  1867,  to  the  registered  voters  of 
said  State,  for  ratification  or  rejection;  and  may  also  submit 
to  a  separate  vote  such  provisions  of  said  constitution  as  he  may 
deem  best 

"  SBC.  2.  And  be  it  fvrtker  enacted,  That  at  the  same  election 
the  voters  of  said  State  may  vote  for  and  elect  members  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  said  State  and  all  the  officers  of  said  State 
provided  for  by  the  said  constitution,  and  for  members  of  Con 
gress;  and  the  officer  commanding  the  district  of  Virginia  shall 
cause  the  lists  of  registered  voters  of  said  State  to  be  revised 
and  corrected  prior  to  such  election,  and  for  that  purpose  may 
appoint  such  registrars  as  he  may  deem  necessary.  And  said 
election  shall  be  held  and  returns  thereof  made  in  the  manner 
provided  by  the  election  ordinance  adopted  by  the  convention 
which  framed  said  constitution." 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  this  bill  the  people  of  Virginia  were  to 
proceed  in  the  work  of  reconstruction  at  such  time  as  the  presi 
dent  might  deem  best,  and  that  such  reconstruction  in  all  its 
parts  was  to  be  on  the  basis  of  equal  political  rights.  The  con 
st  itution  to  be  submitted  was  framed  by  a  convention,  in  the 
election  of  which  colored  citizens  participated,  and  of  which 
colored  men  were  members.  The  "registered  voters"  who  are 
to  vote  on  its  ratification  or  rejection,  and  also  for  members  of 
neral  Assembly,  for  State  officers  and  for  members  of  Con 
gress,  include  the  colored  men  of  Virginia ;  and  if  the  constita- 
adopted,  it  secures  to  them  equal  political  rights  in  that 


230  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


State.  The  remaining  sections  of  the  bill  provide  for  the  recon 
struction  of  Mississippi  and  Texas  on  the  same  principles,  and 
left  the  time  and  manner  to  the  discretion  of  the  president. 

This  bill  was  reported  to  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
unanimously  agreed  upon  by  a  committee,  of  which  four  mem 
bers  were  Democrats.  The  most  distinguished  Democratic  rep 
resentatives  of  the  States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  advo 
cated  its  passage.  Out  of  about  seventy  Democratic  members 
of  the  House,  only  twenty-five  voted  against  it,  and  the  only 
Democratic  members  from  Ohio  who  voted  on  the  passage  of  the 
bill,  voted  for  it. 

It  thus  appears  that  upon  the  recommendation  of  General 
Grant  even  the  Democratic  party  of  Ohio,  by  their  representa 
tives  in  Congress,  voted  for  equal  political  rights  in  Virginia, 
Mississippi,  and  Texas !  And  to-day  the  great  body  of  the  peo 
ple  of  those  States,  Democrats  and  Conservatives  as  well  as  Re 
publicans,  have  yielded  assent  to  that  great  principle.  In  view 
of  these  facts  I  submit  that  I  am  fully  warranted  in  saying  that 
General  Grant  has  begun  the  work  of  reconstruction  in  a  mas 
terly  way  and  with  marked  success. 

Again  thanking  you  for  the  honor  you  have  done  me,  I  repeat, 
in  conclusion,  what  I  said  two  years  ago.  The  people  repre 
sented  in  this  convention  mean  that  the  State  of  Ohio  in  the 
great  progress,  ''whose  leading  object  is  to  elevate  the  condition 
of  men,  to  lift  artificial  weights  from  all  shoulders,  to  clear  the 
paths  of  laudable  pursuits  for  all,  and  to  afford  all  an  unfettered 
start  and  a  fair  chance  in  the  race  of  life,"  shall  tread  no  more 
steps  backward.  I  shall  enter  upon  my  part  of  the  labors  of  the 
canvass  believing  that  the  Union  Republican  party  is  battling 
for  the  right,  and  with  undoubting  confidence  that  the  goodness 
of  the  cause  will  supply  the  weakness  of  its  advocates,  and  com 
mand  in  the  result  that  triumphant  success  which  it  deserves. 


APPENDIX.  231 


Speech  of  GENERAL  R.  B.  HAYES,  delivered  at  Zancs- 
ville,  Ohio,  Thursday,  August  24,  1871. 

The  change  of  principles  which  a  majority  of  the  late  Demo 
cratic  State  Convention  at  Columbus  decided  to  make,  commonly 
called  the  new  departure,  lends  to  the  pending  political  contest 
in  Ohio  its  chief  interest.  Indeed,  there  is  no  other  salient  fea 
ture  in  the  Democratic  platform.  Resolutions  in  the  usual  form 
were  adopted  011  several  other  political  topics;  but  the  main  dis 
cussion,  and  the  absorbing  interest  of  the  convention,  was  on  the 
question  of  accepting  as  a  finality  the  series  of  Republican  meas 
ures  which  is  generally  regarded  as  the  natural  and  legitimate 
result  of  the  overthrow  of  the  rebellion,  and  which  is  embodied 
in  the  last  three  amendments  to  the  constitution. 

Certain  influential  Democratic  leaders  in  Ohio  had  become  sat 
isfied  by  the  repeated  defeats  of  their  party  that  no  considerable 
number  of  Republicans  would  ever  aid  the  Democratic  party  to 
obtain  power  until  it  fully  and  explicitly  accepted  in  good  faith, 
as  a  final  settlement  of  the  questions  involved,  the  leading  Re 
publican  measures  resulting  from  the  war.  They  were  convinced 
that  Republicans  generally  regarded  these  measures  of  such  vital 
importance  that,  until  they  were  irrevocably  established,  other 
and  minor  questions  would  not  be  allowed  to  divide  that  great 
body  of  patriotic  people  who  rallied  together  in  support  of  the 
government  during  its  struggle  for  existence.  The  important 
principles  which  Republicans  claim  should  be  accepted  as  settled 
are: 

1.  That  the  National  power  is  the  Supreme  power  of  the  land, 
and  that  the  doctrine  that  the  States  are  in  any  proper  sense 
sovereign,  including  as  it  does  the  right  of  nullification  and  se 
cession,  is  no  longer  to  be  maintained. 

2.  That  all  persons  born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States, 
and  subject  to  their  jurisdiction,  are  citizens  thereof,  and  enti 
tled  to  equal  rights,  civil  and  political,  without  regard  to  race, 
color,  or  condition. 

3.  That  the  public  debt  resulting  from  the  war  is  of  binding 
obligation,  and  must  be  fully  and  honestly  paid. 


282  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

Mr.  Vallandigham,  with  that  boldness  and  energy  for  which 
he  was  distinguished,  undertook  the  task  of  forcing  his  party  to 
take  the  position  required  to  make  success  possible  in  Ohio.  In 
this  work,  he  was  encouraged,  and  probably  aided,  by  the  coun 
sel  and  advice  of  that  other  eminent  Democratic  leader,  Chief 
.Justice  Chase.  The  first  authentic  announcement  of  the  new 
movement  in  Ohio  was  made  by  the  Montgomery  County  Demo 
cratic  Convention,  held  at  Dayton,  on  the  18th  day  of  May  last. 
The  speech  and  resolutions  of  Mr.  Vallandigham  in  that  body 
contained  much  sound  Republicanism.  He  still  clung  to  a  gen 
eral  assertion  of  the  State  rights  heresy,  but  accepted  the  last 
three  constitutional  amendments  "as  a  settlement,  in  fact,  of  all 
the  issues  of  the  war,"  and  "pledged"  the  Democratic  party  to 
the  faithful  and  absolute  enforcement  of  the  constitution  as  it 
now  is,  "so  as  to  secure  equal  rights  to  all  persons,  without  dis 
tinction  of  race,  color,  or  condition."  On  the  subject  of  the  Na 
tional  debt,  and  of  currency,  he  was  equally  explicit.  He  de 
clared  "  in  favor  of  the  payment  of  the  public  debt  at  the  earliest 
practicable  moment  consistent  with  moderate  taxation;  that 
specie  is  the  basis  of  all  sound  currency;  and  that  true  policy 
requires  a  speedy  return  to  that  basis  as  soon  as  practicable  with 
out  distress  to  tlie  debtor  class  of  people."  -  •* 

Surely,  here  was  a  long  stride  away  from  the  Democracy  of  the 
last  ten  years,  and  toward  wholesome  Republican  ideas.  If  a 
Democratic  victory  could  be  gained  by  adopting  Republican 
principles,  the  framer  of  the  Dayton  platform  was  not  lacking  in 
political  sagacity.  Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  the  scheme, 
no  Ohio  Democrat  of  conspicuous  position,  except  Mr.  Chase,  is 
known  to  have  approved  Mr-  Vallandigham' s  resolutions  as  a 
whole.  The  chief  justice  wrote  to  Mr.  Vallandigham  the  well- 
known  letter  of  May  20,  in  which  he  warmly  congratulated  him 
on  the  movement  which  was  to  return  "  the  Democratic  party  to 
its  ancient  platform  of  progress  and  reform." 

This  was  perfectly  consistent  with  the  previous  opinions  and 
public  conduct  of  Mr.  Chase.  He  had  supported  the  three 
amendments  to  the  constitution,  and  notwithstanding  the  cen 
sure  of  his  Democratic  associates,  he  had  been  signally  active 
and  influential  in  procuring  the  ratification  by  Ohio  of  the  fif 
teenth  amendment.  In  addition  to  this,  he  was  probably  the 
only  prominent  Western  Democrat  who  was  for  the  payment  of 


APPENDIX.  233 


the  public  debt  in  coin,  and  in  favor  of  a  speedy  return  to  specie 
payments. 

When  the  convention  assembled,  on  the  first  of  June,  neither 
the  talents  and  energy  of  Mr.  Vallandigham  nor  the  great  name 
and  authority  of  the  chief  justice  were  sufficient  to  carry  through, 
in  all  its  parts,  the  Dayton  programme.  The  financial  resolu 
tions  were  stricken  out  and  the  oft-defeated  greenback  theory, 
slightly  modified,  wa%  inserted  in  its  place.  Other  important 
paragraphs  of  Mr.  Vallandigham  were  also  omitted,  in  which 
"secession,  slavery,  inequality  before  the  law,  and  political  ine 
quality"  were  described  as  "belonging  to  the  dead  past"  and 
11  buried  out  of  sight."  This  left  as  the  new  departure  two  reso 
lutions,  which  were  adopted  only  after  strong  opposition. 

"  1.  Resolved,  by  the  Democracy  of  Ohio,  That  denouncing  the  ex 
traordinary  means  by  which  they  were  brought  about,  we  recog 
nize  as  accomplished  facts  the  three  several  amendments  to  the 
constitution,  recently  adopted,  and  regard  the  same  as  no  longer 
political  issues  before  the  country. 

"  2.  .  .  .  The  Democratic  party  pledges  itself  to  the  full, 
faithful,  and  absolute  enforcement  of  the  constitution  as  it  now 
is,  so  as  to  secure  equal  rights  to  all  persons  under  it,  without 
distinction  of  race,  color,  or  condition." 

The  Democratic  managers  claim  that  by  this  movement  they 
have  taken  such  a  position  that,  at  least  equally  with  the  Repub 
licans,  they  are  entitled  to  the  confidence  and  support  of  the 
early  and  earnest  friends  of  the  principles  of  the  three  recent 
constitutional  amendments.  They  claim  at  the  same  time,  in 
the  same  breath,  that  they  are  entitled  also  to  the  confidence  o-f 
the  Democratic  people  whom  they  have  hitherto  taught  that  the 
amendments  were  ratified  by  force  and  fraud ;  that  they  are  rev 
olutionary  and  void,  and  that  they  are  a  dangerous  departure 
from  the  principles  of  the  fathers  of  the  republic,  and  destruc 
tive  of  all  good  government. 

Now,  the  important  question  presented  is,  whether  it  is  safe 
and  wise  to  trust  these  amendments  for  interpretation,  construc 
tion,  and  execution  to  the  party  which,  from  first  to  last,  has 
fiercely  opposed  them.  The  safe  rule  is,  if  you  want  a  law  fairly 
and  faithfully  administered,  intrust  power  only  to  its  friends. 
It  will  rarely  have  a  fair  trial  at  the  hands  of  its  enemies.  These 
amendments  are  no  exception  to  this  rule. 


234  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD  B.   HAYES. 


What  the  country  most  needs,  and  what  good  citizens  most 
desire  in  regard  to  these  great  measures  is  peace — repose.  They 
wish  to  be  able  to  rest  confidently  in  the  belief  that  they  are  to 
be  enforced  and  obeyed.  They  do  not  want  them  overthrown 
by  revolutionary  violence  or  defeated  by  fraud.  They  do  not 
wish  them  repealed  by  constitutional  amendments,  abrogated  by 
judicial  construction,  nullified  by  unfriendly  legislation,  State 
or  National,  or  left  a  dead  letter  by  non-fiction  on  the  part  of 
law-makers  or  executive  officers.  Has  the  time  come  when  the 
country  can  afford  to  trust  the  Democratic  party  on  these  ques 
tions?  Consider  the  facts. 

The  new  departure  is  by  no  means  generally  accepted  by  the 
Democratic  party,  and  where  accepted  the  conversion  is  sudden 
and  recent,  and  against  the  protest  of  a  large  element  of  sincere 
and  inflexible  Democrats. 

The  only  State  touching  the  borders  of  Ohio  which  has  been 
reliably  Democratic  for  the  last  five  years  is  Kentucky.  She 
sends  to  Congress  an  undivided  Democratic  delegation  of  two 
senators  and  nine  representatives.  At  the  late  election,  notwith 
standing  the  heroic  efforts  of  her  Republicans  under  the  splen 
did  leadership  of  General  Harlan,  the  Democratic  organs  are 
able  to  rejoice  that  they  still  hold  the  State  by  from  thirty  to 
forty  thousand  majority.  Where  did  the  Democrats  of  Ken 
tucky,  in  their  canvass,  stand  on  the  new  departure  ?  They 
marched  in  the  old  Democratic  path.  They  turned  no  back 
somersault  to  catch  Republican  votes.  On  the  very  day  that  the 
Ohio  Democracy  were  wrangling  in  convention  over  the  bitter 
dose,  Governor  Leslie,  addressing  the  Democracy  of  Lewis  county, 
said :  "As  to  the  new  amendments,  I  am  out  and  out  opposed  to 
them.  I  care  not  who  in  Indiana,  Ohio,  or  elsewhere  may  be  for 
them.  Those  amendments  were  engrafted  upon  the  constitution 
of  the  country,  and  proclaimed  to  the  country  as  part  and  par 
cel  of  the  constitution  by  force  and  by  fraud,  and  not  in  the  le 
gitimate  way  laid  down  in  the  constitution.  Ten  States  of  this 
Union  were  tied  hand  and  foot,  and  bayonets  were  presented  to 
their  breasts  to  make  them  consent  against  their  will  to  the  pas- 
sago  of  these  amendments.  The  procuring  of  these  amendments 
was  a  fraud  upon  this  people,  and  upon  the  people  of  the  whole 
United  States,  and  having  been  thus  obtained,  I  hold  that  they 


APPENDIX.  235 


ought  to  be  repealed.  There  may  be  some  Democrats  who  are 
not  for  their  repeal,  but  the  great  body  of  our  party  is  for  it." 

The  Democratic  candidate  for  lieutenant-governor,  Mr.  Carlisle, 
was  equally  decided.  Said  he:  "In  the  first  place,  I  do  not 
think  that  the  resolution  passed  by  the  Ohio  Democracy,  declar 
ing  that  these  constitutional  amendments  are  no  longer  political 
issues  before  the  country,  will  havo  the  effect  which  they  appear 
to  have  supposed  it  would. 

"  Instead  of  withdrawing  them  as  subjects  of  political  discus 
sion,  it  will  give  them  far  more  prominence  than  they  ever  had 
heretofore,  and  they  will  be  confronted  with  them  throughout 
the  entire  canvass.  The  only  way  in  which  any  question  can  be 
withdrawn  from  the  arena  of  political  discussion  is  for  both  par 
ties  to  ignore  it  altogether. 

"  This  can  not  be  done  as  to  these  amendments,  because  they 
present  real  living  issues,  in  which  the  people  feel  a  very  deep 
interest.  They  are  not  dead  issues,  and  politicians  can  not  kill 
them  by  resolutions.  The  Ohio  Democrats  seem  to  recognize 
this  to  some  extent  at  least,  for  they  have  simply  attempted  to 
turn  the  discussion  away  from  the  validity  and  merits  of  the 
amendments  themselves  to  the  question  of  their  construction. 
In  this  I  think  they  have  made  a  grievous  mistake." 

In  Indiana,  the  last  authoritative  Democratic  utterance  on  this 
subject,  was  the  passage,  in  January  last,  by  the  Senate  of  that 
State,  of  the  following  resolution,  offered  by  Mr.  Hughes,  every 
Democrat  supporting  it : 

"Resolved,  That  Congress  has  no  lawful  power  derived  from  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States,  nor  from  any  other  source 
whatever,  to  require  any  State  of  the  Union  to  ratify  an  amend 
ment  proposed  to  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  as  a  con 
dition  precedent  to  representation  in  Congress;  that  all  such 
acts  of  ratification  are  null  and  void,  and  the  votes  so  obtained 
ought  not  to  be  counted  to  affect  the  rights  of  the  people  and 
the  States  of  the  whole  Union,  and  that  the  State  of  Indiana 
protests  and  solemnly  declares  that  the  so-called  fifteenth  amend 
ment  is  not  this  day,  nor  never  has  been  in  law,  a  part  of  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  to  neighboring  States  for  Democratic 
authorities,  to  show  how  far  the  new  departure  is  from  modern 
Democracy, 


236  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

When  this  question  was  last  debated  before  the  people  of  Ohio, 
the  Democratic  position  on  the  principle  of  the  fifteenth  amend 
ment,  and  on  its  constitutional  validity,  if  declared  adopted,  was 
thus  stated : 

Speaking  of  the  principle  of  the  amendment,  Judge  Thurman 
said:  "I  tell  you  it  is  only  the  entering  wedge  that  will  destroy 
all  intelligent  suffrage  in  this  country,  and  turn  our  country 
from  an  intelligent  white  man's  government  into  one  of  the  most 
corrupt  mongrel  governments  in  the  world." 

On  its  validity,  if  declared  adopted,  General  Ward  said:  "  Fel 
low-citizens  of  Ohio,  I  boldly  assert  that  the  States  of  this  Union 
have  always  had,  both  before  and  since  the  adoption  of  the  con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  entire  sovereignty  over  the  whole 
subject  of  suffrage  in  all  its  relations  and  bearings.  Ohio  has 
that  sovereignty  now,  and  it  can  not  be  taken  from  her  without 
her  consent,  even  by  all  the  other  States  combined,  except  by 
revolutionary  usurpation.  The  right  to  regulate  suffrage  as  to 
the  organization  of  its  own  government,  and  the  election  of  of 
ficers  under  it,  is  an  inalienable  attribute  of  sovereignty,  which 
the  State  could  not  surrender  without  surrendering  its  sovereign 
existence  as  a  State.  To  take  from  Ohio  the  power  of  determin 
ing  who  shall  exercise  the  right  of  suffrage  is  not  an  amendment 
of  the  constitution,  but  a  revolutionary  usurpation  by  the  other 
States,  in  no  wise  constitutionally  binding  upon  her  sovereignty 
as  a  State." 

These  opinions  are  still  largely  prevalent  in  the  Democratic 
party.  When  a  new  departure  was  announced  at  Dayton,  the 
leading  organ  of  the  party  in  this  State  said : 

"There  are  matters  in  the  Montgomery  county  resolutions 
which,  it  is  very  safe  to  say,  will  not  receive  the  approval  of  the 
State  convention,  and  which  should  not  receive  its  indorsement. 
They  have  faults  of  omission  and  commission.  They  evince  a 
desire  to  sail  with  the  wind,  and  as  near  the  water  as  possible 
without  getting  wet.  The  Democracy  everywhere  believe  that 
the  constitution  was  altered  by  fraud  and  force,  and  do  not  in 
tend  to  be  mealy-mouthed  in  their  expression  of  the  outrage, 
whatever  they  may  agree  upon  as  to  how  the  amendments  should 
be  treated  in  the  future,  for  the  sake  of  saving,  if  possible,  what 
is  left  of  constitutional  liberty." 

After  the  scheme  was  adopted  in  convention,  the  common 


APPENDIX.  237 


sentiment  was  well  expressed  by  the  editor  who  said  that  "  the 
platform  was  made  for  present  use,  and  is  marked  with  the  taint 
of  insincerity." 

The  speeches  of  Colonel  McCook  and  other  Democratic  gen 
tlemen  exhibit,  when  carefully  read,  clearly  enough  the  charac 
ter  of  the  new  departure. 

In  accepting  his  nomination,  Colonel  McCook  said  :  "  Let  me 
speak  now  upon  the  fifteenth  amendment,  which  confers  the 
right  of  suffrage  upon  the  blacks.  It  was  no  legitimate  conse 
quence  of  the  war ;  it  was  no  legitimate  consequence  of  seces 
sion;  but  it  was  passed  in  the  exigency  of  a  political  party,  that 
they  might  have  control  as  much  in  Ohio  as  in  those  States  in 
the  South.  I  opposed  it,  as  I  did  the  fourteenth,  from  the  be 
ginning,  and  I  have  no  regrets  over  that  opposition.  But  now 
a  word  more  upon  it.  If  it  contained  nothing  but  this  provision 
for  suffrage  there  would  be  but  little  objection  in  it;  but  it  con 
tains  a  provision  intended  to  confer  power  upon  Congress  which 
is  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the  country,  and  the  dangers  can 
only  be  avoided  by  having  Democratic  Congresses  in  the  future, 
who  will  trust  no  power  to  the  executive  which  bears  the  purse 
and  sword  to  interfere  with  our  elections." 

When  interrogated  on  this  subject  at  Chardon,  he  said :  "  When 
he  received  the  nomination  he  had  said  that  no  black  man  who 
had  received  the  right  to  vote  under  the  15th  amendment  ever 
could  have  it  taken  away.  Repealing  the  15th  amendment  would 
not  take  it  away;  that  amendment  is  no  more  sacred,  but  just 
as  sacred  as  any  other  part  of  the  constitution;  but  repealing  it 
could  not  take  away  a  right."  He  was  asked  as  to  the  13th, 
14th,  and  15th  amendments :  "  Do  you  regard  them  as  in  the  same 
sense  and  to  the  same  extent  parts  of  the  constitution  as  other 
portions?"  He  answered  :  "  Yes,  certainly.  Can  not  men  see 
the  difference  between  opposing  the  adoption  of  a  measure  and 
yielding  when  it  has  been  adopted,  and  opposition  has  become 
useless?"  He  was  asked:  "Are  these  amendments  never  again 
to  become  political  questions ? "  "I  have  no  authority  or  power 
to  answer  such  a  question.  How  can  I  answer  as  to  all  the  fu 
ture  ?  How  can  I  tell  what  the  Democracy  of  New  York  or  any 
other  State  may  do  ?  But  how  can  they  become  political  ques 
tions,  now  that  they  are  acquiesced  in  by  almost  the  entire  peo 
ple  of  the  country?" 


238  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

Mr.  Hubbard,  the  chairman  of  Colonel  McCook's  first  meeting, 
said:  "The  Democrats  did  not  dispute  that  this  amendment, 
which  was  adopted  by  constitutional  forms,Pwas  valid;  but,  while 
accepting  it,  call  it  a  '  new  departure.'  If  you  please,  we  don't 
surrender  the  right  to  make  such  returns  to  the  old  constitution 
as  we  may  deem  expedient.  It  is  a  future  question  that  we  are 
not  bound  to  discuss." 

The  gentleman  who  has  the  second  place  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  Mr.  limit,  says:  "There  is  no  reasoning,  and  certainly  no 
circumstance,  which  can  give  the  13th  amendment  more  binding 
force  than  either  of  the  other  two  amendments.  If  the  13th  amend 
ment  abolished  slavery,  then  the  title  to  vote  under  the  15th 
amendment  is  as  perfect  as  the  title  to  liberty.  The  fact  that 
they  have  been  declared  a  part  of  the  constitution  does  not  pre 
clude  any  legitimate  discussion  as  to  their  expediency.  Proper 
action  will  never  be  barred,  for  the  statute  of  limitation  will  run 
with  the  constitution  itself.  Experience  may  teach  the  neces 
sity  of  a  change  in  any  provision  of  the  organic  law,  and  any 
legislation  to  be  permanent  must  conform  to  the  living  sentiment 
of  the  people." 

These  paragraphs  furnish  no  adequate  reply  to  the  questions 
which  an  intelligent  and  earnest  Republican,  who  believes  in 
the  wisdom  and  value  of  the  amendments,  would  put  to  these 
distinguished  gentlemen,  when  they  ask  him  for  his  vote.  Ho 
would  ask:  "  If  the  Democratic  party  shall  obtain  the  control 
ling  power  in  the  general  government,  in  its  several  departments, 
executive,  legislative,  and  judicial,  and  in  the  State  governments, 
what  would  it  do?  Would  it  faithfully  execute  these  amend 
ments,  or  would  it  not  rather  use  its  power  to  get  rid  of  them — 
either  by  constitutional  amendment,  by  judicial  decision,  by 
unfriendly  legislation,  or  by  a  failure  or  refusal  to  legislate  ? " 
Before  the  "new  departure"  can  gain  Republican  votes,  its 
friends  must  answer  satisfactorily  these  questions.  The  speeches 
I  have  quoted  fail  to  furnish  such  answers.  Colonel  McCook 
objects  to  the  15th  amendment,  because  "it  contains  a  provision 
intended  to  confer  power  upon  Congress  which  is  dangerous  to 
the  liberties  of  the  country."  Now,  what  is  this  dangerous  pro 
vision  ?  It  reads :  "  Section  2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to 
enforce  this  article  by  appropriate  legislation."  Each  of  the 
three  recent  amendments  contains  a  similar  provision.  Without 


APPENDIX.  289 


this  provision,  they  would  be  inoperative  in  more  than  half  of 
the  late  rebel  States.  The  complaints  made  of  these  provisions 
warn  us  that  in  Democratic  hands  the  legislation  required  to 
give  force  and  effect  to  these  provisions  would  be  denied. 

But  the  most  significant  part  of  these  speeches  are  the  passages 
which  refer  to  the  repeal  of  the  amendments.  Mr.  Hubbard 
said  :  "  We  do  n't  surrender  the  right  to  make  such  returns  to 
the  old  constitution  as  we  may  deem  expedient.  It  is  a  future 
question  that  we  are  not  bound  to  discuss."  Colonel  McCook 
says:  "  How  can  I  answer  for  all  the  future?  How  can  I  tell 
what  the  Democracy  of  New  York  or  any  other  State  may  do?" 
Mr.  Hunt  says :  "  The  fact  that  they  have  been  declared  a  part 
of  the  constitution  does  not  preclude  any  legitimate  discussion 
as  to  their  expediency.  Proper  action  will  never  be  barred." 
The  meaning  of  all  this  is  that  the  Democratic  party  will  ac 
quiesce  in  the  amendments  while  it  is  out  of  power.  Whether 
or  not  it  will  try  to  repeal  them  when  it  gets  power  is  a  question 
of  the  future  which  they  are  not  bound  to  discuss.  Or  as  an 
other  distinguished  gentleman  has  it,  this  question  is  "  beyond 
the  range  of  profitable  discussion."  In  reply  to  these  gentle 
men,  the  well-informed  Republican  citizen  when  asked  to  vote 
for  the  new  departure,  is  very  likely  to  adopt  their  own  phrase 
ology,  and  to  say,  Whether  I  shall  vote  your  ticket  or  not  is  a 
question  of  the  future  which  it  is  not  now  proper  to  discuss — "it 
is  beyond  the  range  of  profitable  discussion;"  and  if  he  has  the 
Democratic  veneration  for  Tammany  hall,  he  will  say  with  Col 
onel  McCook,  "  How  can  I  tell  what  the  Democracy  of  New  York 
may  do?" 

Notwithstanding  the  decision  of  the  late  convention,  it  is 
probable  that  the  real  sentiment  of  the  Democracy  of  Ohio  is 
truly  stated  by  the  Butler  county  Democrat : 

"Our  position  then,  is,  that  while  we  regard  the  so-called 
amendments  as  gross  usurpation  and  base  frauds — not  a  part  of 
the  Federal  constitution  de  facto  nor  de  jure — and,  therefore,  acts 
which  are  void,  we  will  abide  by  them  until  a  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  States  united  shall,  at  the  polls,  put  men  in  power 
who  shall  hold  them  to  be  null  and  of  no  effect.  We  adhere 
strictly,  on  this  point,  to  the  second  resolution  of  Hon.  L.  D. 
Campbell,  adopted  at  the  Democratic  convention  held  in  this 


240  LIFE   OP   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


county  last  May ;  and  to  refresh  the  minds  of  our  readers  we  re 
produce  it  here : 

"  2.  That  now,  as  heretofore,  we  are  opposed  to  all  lawlessness 
and  disorder,  and  for  maintaining  the  supremacy  of  the  consti 
tution  and  laws  as  the  only  certain  means  of  public  safety,  and 
will  abide  by  all  their  provisions  until  the  same  shall  be  amended, 
abrogated,  or  repealed  by  the  lawfully  constituted  authorities." 

The  new  departure  has  certainly  very  little  claim  to  the  sup 
port  of  Republican  citizens.  What  are  its  claims  on  honest 
Democrats  ? 

Colonel  McCook,  to  make  the  new  departure  palatable  to  his 
Democratic  supporters,  tells  them  that  a  repeal  of  the  fifteenth 
amendment  would  fail  of  its  object.  That  the  right  to  vote,  once 
exercised  by  the  black  man,  can  not  be  taken  away.  Is  this 
sound  either  in  law  or  logic  ?  By  the  fifteenth  amendment  no 
State  can  deny  the  right  to  vote  to  any  citizens  on  account  of 
race  or  color.  Suppose  that  amendment  was  repealed ;  what 
would  prevent  Kentucky  from  denying  suffrage  to  colored  citi 
zens?  Plainly  nothing.  And  in  case  of  such  repeal  it  is  prob 
able  that  in  less  than  ninety  days  thereafter  every  Democratic 
State  would  deny  suffrage  to  colored  citizens,  and  the  great  body 
of  Democratic  voters  would  heartily  applaud  that  result.  The 
truth  is,  no  sound  argument  can  be  made,  showing  or  tending  to 
show  that  the  new  departure  is  consistent  with  the  Democratic 
record.  Hitherto  Democracy  has  taught  that,  as  a  question  of 
law,  the  amendments  were  made  by  force  and  fraud,  and  are 
therefore  void ;  that,  as  a  question  of  principles,  this  is  a  white 
man's  government,  and  that  to  confer  suffrage  on  the  colored 
races — on  the  African  or  Chinaman — would  change  the  nature 
of  the  government  and  speedily  destroy  it.  Now  the  new  de 
parture  demands  that  Democrats  shall  accept  the  amendments 
as  valid,  and  shall  take  a  pledge  "  to  secure  equal  rights  to  all 
persons,  without  distinction  of  race,  color,  or  condition."  Sin 
cere  Democrats  will  find  it  very  difficult  to  take  that  pledge,  un 
less  they  are  now  convinced  that  their  whole  political  life  has 
been  a  great  mistake. 

When  an  individual  changes  his  political  principles — turns  his 
coat  merely  to  catch  votes — he  is  generally  thought  to  be  un 
worthy  of  support.  I  entertain  no  doubt  that  the  people  of  Ohio, 


APPENDIX.  241 


at  the  approaching  election,  will,  upon  that  principle,  by  a  large 
majority,  condemn  the  Democratic  party  for  its  bold  attempt  to 
catch  Republican  votes  by  the  new  departure. 


Speech  of  GENERAL  R.  B.  HAYES,  delivered  at  Marion^ 
Lawrence  County,  Ohio,  July  31,  1875. 

Fellow-citizens  of  Lawrence  County  : 

It  is  a  gratification  for  which  I  wish  to  make  my  acknowledg 
ments  to  the  Republican  committee  of  this  county,  to  have  the 
privilege  of  beginning,  in  behalf  of  the  Republicans  of  Ohio,  the 
oral  discussions  of  this  important  political  canvass  before  the 
people  of  Lawrence  county.  Although  my  residence  is  separated 
from  yours  by  the  whole  breadth  of  the  State,  we  are  not 
strangers.  We  have  met  before  on  similar  occasions,  and  some 
of  you  were  my  comrades  in  the  Union  army  during  a  considera 
ble  part  of  the  great  civil  conflict  which  ended  ten  years  ago. 
Those  who  had  the  honor  and  the  happiness  to  serve  together 
during  that  memorable  struggle  are  not  likely  to  forget  each 
other.  We  shall  forever  regard  those  four  years  as  the  most  in 
teresting  period  of  our  lives. 

The  great  majority  of  the  people  of  Lawrence  county,  citizens 
as  well  as  soldiers,  have  also  good  reason  to  recall  the  events  and 
scenes  of  that  contest  with  satisfaction  and  pride. 

The  official  records  of  the  State  show  how  well  Lawrence 
county  performed  her  part  in  the  war  for  the  Union.  From  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  with  the  ballot  at  home  and  with  the  mus 
ket  in  the  field,  this  county  stood  among  the  foremost  of  all  the 
communities  in  the  United  States  in  devotion  to  the  good  cause. 
And  since  the  Nation's  triumph,  Lawrence  county,  sooner  or 
later,  but  never  too  late  to  rejoice  in  the  final  and  decisive  vic 
tory,  has  supported  every  measure  required  to  secure  the  legiti 
mate  results  of  that  triumph.  You  have  done  your  part  forever 
to  set  at  rest  the  great  questions  of  the  past.  It  is  settled  that 


242  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 

the  United  States  constitute  a  Nation,  and  that  their  government 
possesses  ample  power  to  maintain  its  authority  over  every  part  of 
its  territory  against  all  opposers.  It  is  settled  that  110  man  under 
the  American  flag  shall  be  a  slave.  It  is  settled  that  all  men 
born  or  naturalized  in  the  United  States  and  within  its  jurisdic 
tion  shall  be  citizens  thereof,  and  have  equal  civil  and  political 
rights.  It  is  settled  that  the  debt  contracted  to  save  the  Nation 
is  sacred,  and  shall  be  honestly  paid.  You  may  well  be  congratu 
lated  that  on  all  of  these  questions  you  fought  and  voted  on  the 
right  side. 

Fortunately,  there  is  still  further  cause  for  congratulation. 
Our  adversaries,  who  were  on  the  wrong  side  of  all  of  these  ques 
tions,  and  who  opposed  us  on  all  of  them  to  the  very  last,  are 
now  compelled  to  be  silent  in  their  platform  on  every  one  of 
them.  Not  a  single  one  of  their  fourteen  resolutions  raises  any 
question  on  any  of  these  long-contested  subjects.  It  is  not 
strange  that  they  are  silent.  I  do  riot  choose  on  this  occasion  to 
recall  the  predictions  of  evil  which  they  so  confidently  made 
when  discussing  the  measures  to  which  I  have  referred.  It  is 
enough  for  my  present  purpose  to  point  to  the  grand  results. 
When  the  Republican  party,  with  Abraham  Lincoln  as  president, 
received  the  government  from  the  hands  of  the  Democratic  party, 
fifteen  years  ago,  the  Union  of  the  fathers  was  destroyed.  A 
hostile  Nation,  dedicated  to  perpetual  slavery,  had  been  estab 
lished  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  claimed  jurisdiction  over  one- 
third  of  the  people  and  territory  of  the  Republic.  These  States 
were  "  dissevered,  discordant,  belligerent " — our  land  was  rent 
with  civil  feud,  and  ready  to  be  drenched  in  fraternal  blood. 
Now,  behold  the  change !  The  Union  is  re-established  on  firmer 
foundations  than  ever  before.  Brave  men  in  the  South,  who 
were  then  in  battle  array  against  us,  now  stand  side  by  side  with 
Union  soldiers,  with  no  shadow  of  discord  between  them. 
Slavery,  which  was  then  an  impassable  gulf  between  the  hostile 
sections,  is  now  gone;  and  good  men  of  the  South  unite  with 
good  men  of  the  North  in  thanking  God  that  it  is  forever  a  thing 
of  the  past.  Then  there  was  no  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press — 
no  friendly  mingling  together  of  the  people  of  the  two  sections  of 
the  country.  Now  the  people  of  the  South  receive  and  greet  as 
a  fellow-citizen  and  a  friend  the  vice-president — a  citizen  of  Massa- 


APPENDIX.  243 


chusetts,  and  an  anti-slavery  man  from  his  youth ;  and  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  South  Carolina  send  their  distinguished  sons  to 
celebrate  with  New  England  the  centennial  anniversaries  of  tho 
early  battles  of  the  Eevolution.  The  men  of  the  North  and  the 
men  of  the  South  are  now  everywhere  coming  together  in  a 
spirit  of  harmony  and  friendship  which  this  generation  has  not 
witnessed  before,  and  which  has  not  existed,  until  now,  since 
Jefferson  was  startled  by  that  "fire-ball  in  the  night" — the  Mis 
souri  question — more  than  fifty  years  ago. 

In  this  era  of  good  feeling  and  reconciliation  a  few  men  of 
morbid  temperament,  blind  to  what  is  passing  before  them,  stiil 
talk  of  "bayonets"  and  "tyranny  and  cruelty  to  the  South," 
and  seek  in  vain  to  revive  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the 
past.  But  there  is  barely  enough  of  this  angry  dissent  to  remind 
us  of  the  terrible  scenes  through  which  we  have  passed,  and  to 
fill  us  Avith  gratitude  that  the  house  which  was  divided  against 
itself  is  divided  no  longer,  and  that  all  of  its  inhabitants  now 
have  a  fair  start  and  an  equal  chance  in  the  race  of  life. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  some  of  the  ques 
tions  which  engage  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Ohio.  Tho 
war  which  the  Democratic  party  and  its  doctrines  brought  upon 
the  country  left  a  large  debt,  heavy  taxation,  a  depreciated  cur 
rency,  and  an  unhealthy  condition  of  business,  which  resulted 
two  years  ago  in  a  financial  panic  and  depression,  from  which 
the  country  is  now  slowly  recovering.  With  this  condition  of 
things  the  Democratic  party  in  its  recent  State  convention  at 
Columbus  undertook  to  deal. 

The  most  important  part — in  fact  the  only  part  of  their  plat 
form  in  Ohio  this  year  which  receives  or  deserves  much  attention, 
is  that  in  which  is  proclaimed  a  radical  departure  on  the  subject 
of  money  from  the  teachings  of  all  of  the  Democratic  fathers, 
This  Ohio  Democratic  doctrine  inculcates  the  abandonment  of 
gold  and  silver  as  a  standard  of  value.  Hereafter  gold  and  silver 
are  to  be  used  as  money  only  "  where  respect  for  the  obligation 
of  contracts  requires  payment  in  coin."  The  only  currency  for 
the  people  is  to  be  paper  money,  issued  directly  by  the  general 
government,  "  its  volume  to  be  made  and  kept  equal  to  the  wants 
of  trade,"  and  with  no  provision  whatever  for  its  redemption  in 
(Join.  The  Democratic  candidate  for  lieutenant-governor,  who 


244  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD  B.   HAYES. 


opened  the  canvass  for  his  party,  states  the  money  issue  substan 
tially  as  I  have.  General  Carey,  in  his  Barnesville  speech,  says : 

"  Gold  and  silver,  when  used  as  money,  are  redeemable  in  any 
property  there  is  for  sale  in  the  Nation  ;  will  pay  taxes  for  any 
debt,  public  or  private.  This  alone  gives  them  their  money 
value.  If  you  had  a  hundred  gold  eagles,  and  you  could  not 
exchange  them  for  the  necessaries  o£  life,  they  would  be  trash, 
and  you  would  be  glad  to  exchange  them  for  greenbacks  or  any 
thing  else  that  you  could  use  to  purchase  what  you  require. 
With  an  absolute  paper  money,  stamped  by  the  government  and 
made  a  legal  tender  for  all  purposes,  and  its  functions  as  money 
are  as  perfect  as  gold  or  silver  can  be !" 

This  is  the  financial  scheme  which  the  Democratic  party  asks 
the  people  of  Ohio  to  approve  at  the  election  in  October.  The 
Republicans  accept  the  issue.  Whether  considered  as  a  perma 
nent  policy  or  as  an  expedient  to  mitigate  present  evils  Ave  are 
opposed  to  it.  It  is  without  warrant  in  the  constitution,  and  it 
violates  all  sound  financial  principles. 

The  objections  to  an  inflated  and  irredeemable  paper  currency 
are  so  many  that  I  do  not  attempt  to  state  them  all.  They  are 
so  obvious  and  so  familiar  that  I  need  not  elaborately  present  or 
argue  them.  All  of  the  mischief  which  commonly  follows  in 
flated  and  inconvertible  paper  money  may  be  expected  from 
this  plan,  and  in  addition  it  has  very  dangerous  tendencies. 
which  are  peculiarly  its  own.  An  irredeemable  and  inflated 
paper  currency  promotes  speculation  and  extravagance,  and  at 
the  same  time  discourages  legitimate  business,  honest  labor,  and 
economy.  It  dries  up  the  true  sources  of  individual  and  public 
prosperity.  Over-trading  and  fast  living  always  go  with  it.  It 
stimulates  the  desire  to  incur  debt ;  it  causes  high  rates  of  in 
terest  ;  it  increases  importations  from  abroad ;  it  has  no  fixed 
value;  it  is  liable  to  frequent  and  great  fluctuations,  thereby 
rendering  every  pecuniary  engagement  precarious  and  disturbing 
all  existing  contracts  and  expectations ;  it  is  the  parent  of  pan 
ics.  Every  period  of  inflation  is  followed  by  a  loss  of  confidence, 
a  shrinkage  of  values,  depression  of  business,  panics,  lack  of 
employment,  and  widespread  disaster  and  distress.  The  heaviest 
part  of  the  calamity  falls  on  those  least  able  to  bear  it.  The 
wholesale  dealer,  the  middle-man,  and  the  retailer  always  en- 


APPENDIX.  245 


deavor  to  cover  the  risks  of  the  fickle  standard  of  value  by  rais 
ing  their  prices.  But  the  men  of  small  means  and  the  laborer 
are  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  want  and  suffering  are  liable 
soon  to  follow. 

When  government  enters  upon  the  experiment  of  issuing  ir 
redeemable  paper  money  there  can  be  no  fixed  limit  to  its  vol 
ume.  The  amount  will  depend  on  the  interest  of  leading  poli 
ticians,  on  their  whims,  and  on  the  excitement  of  the  hour.  It 
affords  such  facility  for  contracting  debt  that  extravagant  and 
corrupt  government  expenditure  are  the  sure  result.  Under  the 
name  of  public  improvements,  the  wildest  enterprizes,  contrived 
for  private  gain,  are  undertaken.  Indefinite  expansion  becomes 
the  rule,  and  in  the  end  bankruptcy,  ruin,  and  repudiation. 

During  the  last  few  years  a  great  deal  has  been  said  about  the 
centralizing  tendency  of  recent  events  in  our  history.  The  in 
creasing  power  of  the  government  at  Washington  has  been  a 
favorite  theme  for  Democratic  declamation.  But  where,  since 
the  foundation  of  the  government,  has  a  proposition  been  seri 
ously  entertained  which  would  confer  such  monstrous  and  dan 
gerous  powers  011  the  general  government  as  this  inflation  scheme 
of  the  Ohio  Democracy  ?  During  the  war  for  the  Union,  solely 
on  the  ground  of  necessity,  the  government  issued  the  legal 
tender,  or  greenback  currency.  But  they  accompanied  it  with 
a  solemn  pledge  in  the  following  words  of  the  act  of  June  30, 
1864: 

"  Nor  shall  the  total  amount  of  United  States  notes  issued  or 
to  be  issued  ever  exceed  four  hundred  millions,  and  such  addi 
tional  sum,  not  exceeding  fifty  millions,  as  may  be  temporarily 
required  for  redemption  of  temporary  loans." 

But  the  Ohio  inflationists,  in  a  time  of  peace,  on  grounds  of 
mere  expediency,  propose  an  inconvertible  paper  currency,  with 
its  volume  limited  only  by  the  discretion  or  caprice  of  its  issu 
ers,  or  their  judgment  as  to  the  wants  of  trade.  The  most  dis 
tinguished  gentleman  whose  name  is  associated  with  the  sub 
ject  once  said  "  the  process  must  be  conducted  with  skill  and 
caution,  ...  by  men  whose  position  will  enable  them  to 
guard  against  any  evil,"  and  using  a  favorite  illustration  he  said, 
"  The  secretary  of  the  treasury  ought  to  be  able  to  judge.  His 
hand  is  upon  the  pulse  of  the  country.  Ho  can  feel  all  the 


246  LIFE   OF   BUTIIERFOKD   B.   HAYES. 


throbbings  of  the  blood  in  the  arteries.  He  can  tell  when  the 
blood  flows  too  fast  and  strong,  and  when  the  expansion  should 
cease."  This  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the  fundamental  error 
of  this  dangerous  policy.  The  trouble  is  the  pulse  of  the  pa 
tient  will  not  so  often  decide  the  question  as  the  interest  of  the 
doctor.  No  man,  no  government,  no  Congress  is  wise  enough 
and  pure  enough  to  be  trusted  with  this  tremenduous  power 
over  the  business,  and  property,  and  labor  of  the  country.  That 
which  concerns  so  intimately  all  business  should  be  decided,  if 
possible,  on  business  principles,  and  not  be  left  to  depend  on  the 
exigencies  of  politics,  the  interests  of  party,  or  the  ambition  of 
public  men.  It  will  not  do  for  property,  for  business,  or  for  labor 
to  be  at  the  mercy  of  a  few  political  leaders  at  Washington, 
either  in  or  out  of  Congress.  The  best  way  to  prevent  it  is  to 
apply  to  paper  money  the  old  test  sanctioned  by  the  experience 
of  all  Nations — let  it  be  convertible  into  coin.  If  it  can  respond 
to  this  test,  it  will,  as  nearly  as  possible,  be  sound,  safe,  and 
stable. 

The  Republicans  of  Ohio  are  in  favor  of  no  sudden  or 
harsh  measures.  They  do  not  propose  to  force  resumption  by  a 
contraction  of  the  currency.  They  see  that  the  ship  is  headed 
in  the  right  direction,  and  they  do  not  wish  to  lose  what  has  al 
ready  been  gained.  They  are  satisfied  to  leave  to  the  influences 
of  time  and  the  inherent  energy  and  resources  of  the  country  the 
work  that  yet  remains  to  be  done  to  place  our  currency  at  par. 
We  believe  that  what  our  country  now  needs  to  revive  business 
and  to  give  employment  to  labor,  is  a  restoration  of  confidence. 
We  need  confidence  in  the  stability  and  soundness  of  the  finan 
cial  policy  of  the  government.  That  confidence  has  for  many 
months  past  been  slowly  but  steadily  increasing.  The  Columbus 
Democratic  platform  comes  in  as  a  disturbing  element,  and  gives 
a  severe  shock  to  reviving  confidence  The  country  believed, 
and  rejoiced  to  believe,  that  Senator  Thurman  expressed  the 
sober  judgment  of  Ohio,  when  he  spoke  last  year  in  the  Senate 
on  this  subject.  The  senator  said,  March  24,  1874  : 

"  Never  have  I  spoken  in  favor  of  that  inflation  of  the  cur 
rency,  which,  I  think  I  see  full  well,  means  that  there  shall  never 
be  any  resumption  at  all.  That  is  the  difference.  It  is  one 
thing  to  contract  the  currency,  with  a  view  to  the  resumption  of 


APPEEDIX.  247 


specie  payment ;  it  is  another  thing  neither  to  contract  nor  en 
large  it,  but  let  resumption  come  naturally  and  as  soon  as  the 
business  and  production  of  the  country  will  bring  it  about.  But 
it  is  a  very  different  thing  indeed  to  innate  the  currency  with  a 
view  never  in  all  time  to  redeem  it  at  all.  And  that  is  precisely 
what  this  inflation  means.  It  means  demonetizing  gold  and 
silver  in  perpetuity,  and  substituting  a  currency  of  irredeemable 
paper,  based  wholly  and  entirely  upon  government  credit,  and 
depending  upon  the  opinion  and  the  interests  of  the  members 
of  Congress  and  their  hopes  of  popularity,  whether  th£  volume 
of  it  shall  be  large  or  small.  That  is  what  this  inflation  means. 
Sir,  I  have  never  said  anything  in  favor  of  that.  I  am  too  old- 
fashioned  a  Democrat  for  that.  I  can  not  give  up  the  convic 
tions  of  a  life-time,  whether  they  be  popular  or  unpopular." 
April  6th,  when  the  Senate  inflation  bill  was  debated,  he  said  : 
"  It  simply  means  that  no  man  of  my  age  shall  ever  again  see 
in  this  country  that  kind  of  currency  which  the  framers  of  the 
constitution  intended  should  be  the  currency  of  the  Union ; 
which  every  sound  writer  on  political  economy  the  world  over 
says  is  the  only  currency  that  defrauds  no  man.  It  means  that 
so  long  as  I  live,  and  possibly  long  after  I  shall  be  laid  in  the 
grave,  this  people  shall  have  nothing  but  an  irredeemable 
currency  with  which  to  transact  their  business — that  currency 
which  has  been  well  described  as  the  most  effective  invention 
that  ever  the  wit  of  man  devised  to  fertilize  the  rich  man's  field 
by  the  sweat  of  the  poor  man's  brow.  I  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it." 

How  great  the  shock  which  was  given  to  returning  confidence 
by  the  Democratic  action  at  Columbus  abundantly  appears  by 
the  manner  in  which  the  platform  is  received  by  the  Liberal 
and  the  English  and  the  German  Democratic  press  throughout 
the  United  States.  The  Liberal  press  and  the  German  press,  so 
far  as  I  have  observed,  in  the  strongest  terms  condemn  the  plat 
form.  They  speak  of  it  as  disturbing  confidence,  shaking  credit, 
and  threatening  repudiation.  A  large  part  of  the  Democratic 
press  of  other  States  is  hardly  less  emphatic.  It  would  be 
strange,  indeed,  if  this  were  otherwise.  In  Ohio,  less  than  two 
years  ago,  the  convention  which  nominated  Governor  Allen  re 
solved,  speaking  of  the  Democratic  party,  that  "  it  recognizes  the 


248  LIFE   OF  RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 


evils  of  an  irredeemable  paper  currency,  but  insists  that  in  the 
return  to  specie  payment  care  should  be  taken  not  to  seriously 
disturb  the  business  of  the  country  or  unjustly  injure  the  debtor 
class."  There  was  no  inflation  then.  Now  come  the  soft-money 
leaders  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  try  to  persuade  the  people 
that  the  promises  of  the  United  States  should  only  be  redeemed 
by  other  promises,  and  that  it  is  sound  policy  to  increase  them. 
The  credit  of  the  Nation  depends  on  its  ability  and  disposition 
to  keep  its  promises.  If  it  fails  to  keep  them,  and  suffers  them 
to  depreciate,  its  credit  is  tainted,  and  it  must  pay  high  rates  of 
interest  on  all  of  its  loans.  For  many  years  we  must  be  a  bor 
rower  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  The  interest-bearing  debt  is 
over  seventeen  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  If  we  could  bor 
row  money  at  the  same  rate  with  some  of  the  great  Nations  of 
Europe,  we  could  save  perhaps  two  per  cent,  per  annum  on  this 
sum.  Thirty  or  forty  millions  a  year  we  are  paying  on  account 
of  tainted  credit.  The  more  promises  to  pay  an  individual  is 
sues,  without  redeeming  them,  the  worse  becomes  his  credit.  It 
is  the  same  with  Nations.  The  legal  tender  note  for  five  dollars 
is  the  promise  of  the  United  States  to  pay  that  sum  in  the  money 
of  the  world,  in  coin.  No  time  is  fixed  for  its  payment.  It  is  there 
fore  payable  on  presentation — on  demand.  It  is  not  paid ;  it  is  past 
duo ;  and  it  is  depreciated  to  the  extent  of  twelve  per  cent.  The 
country  recognizes  the  necessities  of  the  situation,  and  waits, 
and  is  willing  to  wait,  until  the  productive  business  of  the  coun 
try  enables  the  government  to  redeem.  But  the  Columbus  finan 
ciers  are  not  satisfied.  They  demand  the  issue  of  more  promises. 
This  is  inflation.  No  man  can  doubt  the  result.  The  credit  of 
the  Nation  will  inevitably  suffer.  There  will  be  further  depre 
ciation.  A  depreciation  of  ten  per  cent,  diminishes  the  value 
of  the  present  paper  currency  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
millions  of  dollars.  Its  effect  on  business  would  be  disastrous 
in  the  extreme.  The  present  legal  tenders  have  a  certain  steadi 
ness,  because  there  is  a  limit  fixed  to  their  amount.  Public 
opinion  confides  in  that  limit.  But  let  that  limit  be  broken 
down,  and  all  is  uncertainty.  The  authors  of  this  scheme  be 
lieve  inflation  is  a  good  thing.  When  this  subject  was  under 
discussion,  a  few  years  ago,  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer  said  "  the  is- 
vsue  of  two  millions  dollars  of  currency  would  only  put  it  in  the 


APPENDIX.  249 


power  of  each  voter  to  secure  $400  for  himself  and  family  to 
Bpend  in  the  course  of  a  life-time.  Is  there  any  voter  thinks 
that  is  too  much — more  than  he  will  want?  "  This  shows  what 
the  platform  means.  It  means  inflation  without  limit;  and  in- 
ilation  is  the  downward  path  to  repudiation.  It  means  ruin  to 
the  Nation's  credit,  and  to  all  individual  credit.  All  the  rest  of 
the  world  have  the  same  standard  of  value.  Our  promises  are 
worthless  as  currency  the  moment  you  pass  our  boundary  line. 
Even  in  this  country,  very  extensive  sections  still  use  the  money 
of  the  world.  Texas,  the  most  promising  and  flourishing  State 
of  the  South,  uses  coin.  California  and  the  other  Pacific  States 
and  Territories  do  the  same.  Look  at  their  condition.  Texas 
and  California  are  not  the  least  prosperous  part  of  the  United 
States.  This  scheme  can  not  be  adopted.  The  opinion  of  the 
civilized  world  is  against  it.  The  vast  majority  of  the  ablest 
newspapers  of  the  country  is  against  it.  The  best  minds  of  the 
Democratic  party  are  against  it.  The  last  three  Democratic  can 
didates  for  the  presidency  were  against  it.  The  German  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  so  distinguished  for  industry,  for  thrift,  and 
for  soundness  of  judgment  in  all  practical  money  affairs,  are  a 
unit  against  it.  The  Republican  party  is  against  it.  The  people 
of  Ohio  will,  I  am  confident,  decide  in  October  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  it. 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  inflation  platform  at  Columbus,  a 
great  change  has  taken  place  in  the  feelings  and  views  of  its 
friends.  Then  they  were  confident — perhaps  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  they  were  dictatorial  and  overbearing  toward  their 
hard  money  party  associates.  There  was  no  doubt  as  to  the  in 
tent  and  meaning  of  the  platform.  Its  friends  asserted  that  the 
country  needed  more  money,  and  more  money  now.  That  the 
way  to  get  it  was  to  issue  government  legal  tender  notes  liber 
ally.  But  the  storm  of  criticism  and  condemnation  which  burst 
upon  the  platform  from  the  soundest  Democrats  in  all  quarters 
has  alarmed  its  supporters.  Many  of  them  have  been  seized 
with  a  panic,  and  are  now  utterly  stampeded  and  in  full  retreat. 
They  say  that  they  are  not  for  inflation,  not  for  inconvertible 
paper  money,  and  that  they  never  have  been.  That  they  are 
hard  money  men,  and  always  have  been.  That  they  look  for 
ward  to  a  return  of  specie  payment,  and  that  it  must  always  be 


250  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.   HAYES. 


kept  in  view.  Why  what  did  they  mean  by  their  platform? 
Did  they  expect  to  make  money  plenty  by  an  issue  of  more 
coin  ?  Certainly  not.  By  an  issue  of  more  paper  redeemable  in 
coin  ?  Certainly  not.  They  expected  to  issue  more  legal  tender 
notes — notes  irredeemable  and  depreciated.  But  public  opinion 
as  shown  by  the  press  is  so  decidedly  against  them,  that  Ohio  in 
flationists  now  begin  to  desert  their  own  platform.  Even  Mr. 
Pendleton  is  solicitous  not  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  Colum 
bus  scheme.  He  says,  "  I  speak  for  myself  alone.  I  do  not  as 
sume  to  speak  for  the  Democratic  party.  Its  convention  has 
spoken  for  it,"  and  proceeds  to  interpret  the  platform  as  if  it  was 
for  hard  money.  Senator  Thurman  did  not  so  understand  it. 
He  thought  the  hard  money  men  were  beaten  and  felt  disap 
pointed.  It  now  looks  as  if  General  Carey  might  be  left  almost 
alone  before  the  canvass  ends.  If  Judge  Thurman  could  get 
that  convention  together  again,  it  is  evident  that  he  could  now ' 
in  the  same  body  rout  the  inflationists,  horse,  foot,  and  artillery. 
Nothing  but  a  victory  in  Ohio  can  put  inflation  again  on  its  legs. 
Let  it  be  defeated  in  October,  and  the  friends  of  a  sound  and 
honest  currency  will  have  a  clear  field  for  at  least  the  life  of  the 
present  generation. 

Two  years  ago,  the  Democratic  party  came  fully  into  power  in 
Ohio,  in  the  State  legislature,  and  for  the  first  time  in  twenty 
years,  elected  the  executive  of  the  State.  They  were  also  en 
trusted  with  the  affairs  of  the  leading  cities,  and  a  majority  of 
the  wealthiest  and  most  populous  counties  in  the  State.  It  would 
be  profitable  in  us  to  inquire  how  this  came  about,  and  what  are 
the  results.  In  the  course  of  the  canvass  it  is  my  purpose  to 
show  in  detail  how  unfortunate  their  management  of  State  af 
fairs  has  been.  It  will  appear,  on  investigation,  that  the  inter 
ests  of  the  State  in  the  benevolent,  penal,  and  reformatory  insti 
tutions  have  been  sacrificed  to  the  spoils  doctrine:  how  the 
cities,  and  especially  the  chief  city  of  the  State,  has  suffered  by 
the  corruption  of  its  rulers ;  how  public  expenditures  have  been 
increased,  until  the  aggregate  of  taxation  in  Ohio,  in  this  time 
of  money  depression,  is  vastly  larger  than  ever  before;  how  the 
number  of  salaried  officers  was  increased ;  how  the  members  of 
the  legislature  were  corrupted  by  bribery,  notorious,  and  shame 
less  ;  and  how  the  dominant  party  utterly  failed  to  deal  with 


APPENDIX.  251 


this  corruption  as  duty  and  the  good  name  of  the  State  de 
manded.  Fallacious  and  deceptive  statements  have  been  made 
as  to  the  reduction  of  the  levy  for  State  taxes,  and  as  to  the  ap 
propriations.  It  is  enough  now  to  say  that  the  aggregate  taxa 
tion  in  Ohio  in  1874,  was  over  $27,000,000,  a  larger  sum  than  was 
ever  before  collected  by  tax-gatherers  in  Ohio. 

Altogether  the  most  interesting  questions  in  our  State  affairs 
are  those  which  relate  to  the  passage,  by  the  last  legislature,  of 
the  Geghan  bill  and  the  war  which  the  sectarian  wing  of  the 
Democratic  party  is  now  waging  against  the  public  schools.  In 
the  admirable  speech  made  by  Judge  Taft  at  the  Republican 
State  Convention,  he  sounded  the  key-note  to  the  canvass  on 
this  subject.  He  said  "  our  motto  must  be  universal  liberty  and 
universal  suffrage,  secured  by  universal  education."  Before  we 
discuss  these  questions,  it  may  be  well,  in  order  that  there  may 
be  no  excuse  for  further  misrepresentation,  to  show  by  whom  this 
subject  was  introduced  into  politics,  and  to  state  explicitly  that 
we  attack  110  sect  and  no  man,  either  Protestant  or  Jew,  Catho 
lic  or  Unbeliever,  on  account  of  his  conscientious  convictions  in 
regard  to  religion.  Who  began  the  agitation  of  this  subject? 
Why  is  it  agitated?  All  parties  have  taken  hold  of  it.  The 
Democratic  party  in  their  State  convention  make  it  the  topic 
of  their  longest  resolution.  In  their  platform  they  gave 
it  more  space  than  to  any  other  subject  except  the  currency. 
Many  of  the  Democratic  county  conventions  also  took  action 
upon  it. 

The  Republican  State  Convention  passed  resolutions  on  the 
question.  It  is  stated  that  it  was  considered  in  about  forty  Re 
publican  county  conventions.  The  State  Teachers'  Association, 
at  their  last  meeting,  passed  unanimously  the  following  resolu 
tion.  Mr.  Tappan,  from  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  reported 
the  following : 

"Resolved,  That  we  are  in  favor  of  a  free,  impartial,  and  unsec- 
tarian  'education  to  every  child  in  the  State,  and  that  any  divis 
ion  of  the  school  fund  or  appropriation  of  any  part  thereof  to 
any  religious  or  private  school  would  be  injurious  to  education 
and  the  best  interests  of  the  church." 

An  able  address  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jeffers,  of  Cleveland,  showing 


252  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    JIAYES. 


the  "  perils  which  threaten  our  public  schools,"  was  emphatically 
applauded  by  that  intelligent  body  of  citizens. 

The  assemblies  of  the  different  religious  denominations  in  the 
State,  which  have  recently  been  held,  have  generally,  and  I 
think  without  exception,  passed  similar  resolutions.  If  blame 
is  to  attach  to  all  who  consider  and  discuss  this  question  before 
the  public,  we  have  had  a  very  large  body  of  offenders.  But  I 
have  not  named  all  who  are  engaged  in  it.  I  have  not  named 
those  who  began  it;  those  who  for  years  have  kept  it  up;  those 
who  in  the  press,  on  the  platform,  in  the  pulpit,  in  legislative 
bodies,  in  city  councils,  and  in  school  boards,  now  unceasingly  agi 
tate  the  question.  Everybody  knows  who  they  are ;  everybody 
knows  that  the  sectarian  wing  of  the  Democratic  party  began 
this  agitation,  and  that  it  is  bent  on  the  destruction  of  our  free 
schools.  If  Republicans  acting  on  the  defensive  discuss  the 
subject,  and  express  the  opinion  that  the  Democratic  party  can  't 
safely  be  trusted,  they  are  denounced  in  unmeasured  terms. 
General  Carey  calls  them  "political  knaves"  and  "fools"  and 
"  bigots."  But  it  is  very  significant  that  no  Democratic  speaker 
denounces  those  who  began  the  agitation.  All  their  epithets 
are  leveled  at  the  men  who  are  on  the  right  side  of  the  question. 
Agitation  on  the  wrong  side — agitation  against  the  schools  may 
go  on.  It  meets  no  condemnation  from  leading  Democratic  can 
didates  and  speakers.  The  reason  is  plain.  Those  who  mean 
to  destroy  the  school  system  constitute  a  formidable  part  of  the 
Democratic  party,  without  whose  support  that  party,  as  the  leg 
islature  was  told  last  spring,  can  not  carry  the  county,  the  city, 
nor  the  State. 

The  sectarian  agitation  against  the  public  schools  was  begun 
many  years  ago.  During  the  last  few  years,  it  has  steadily  and 
rapidly  increased,  and  has  been  encouraged  by  various  indica 
tions  of  possible  success.  It  extends  to  all  of  the  States  where 
schools  at  the  common  expense  have  been  long  established.  Its 
triumphs  are  mainly  in  the  large  towns  and  cities.  It  has  al 
ready  divided  the  schools,  and  in  a  considerable  degree  impaired 
and  limited  their  usefulness.  The  glory  of  the  American  system 
of  education  has  been  that  it  was  so  cheap  that  the  humblest 
citizen  could  afford  to  give  his  children  its  advantages,  and  so 
good  that  the  man  of  wealth  could  nowhere  provide  for  his  chil 


APPENDIX.  253 


dren  anything  better.  This  gave  the  system  its  most  conspicu 
ous  merit.  It  made  it  a  Republican  system.  The  young  of  all 
conditions  of  life  are  brought  together  and  educated  on  terms 
of  perfect  equality.  The  tendency  of  this  is  to  assimilate  and 
to  fuse  together  the  various  elements  of  our  population,  to  pro 
mote  unity,  harmony,  and  general  good  will  in  our  American  so 
ciety.  But  the  enemies  of  the  American  system  have  begun  the 
work  of  destroying  it.  They  have  forced  away  from  the  public 
schools,  in  many  towns  and  cities,  one-third  or  one-fourth  of  their 
pupils  and  sent  them  to  schools  which  it  is  safe  to  say  are  no 
whit  superior  to  those  they  have  left.  These  youth  are  thus  de 
prived  of  the  associations  and  the  education  in  practical  Repub 
licanism  and  American  sentiments  which  they  peculiarly  need. 
Nobody  questions  their  constitutional  and  legal  right  to  do  this, 
and  to  do  it  by  denouncing  the  public  schools.  Sectarians  have 
a  lawful  right  to  say  that  these  schools  are  "a  relict  of  pagan 
ism — that  they  are  Godless,"  and  that  ' '  the  secular  school  sys 
tem  is  a  social  cancer."  But  when  having  thus  succeeded  in  di 
viding  the  schools,  they  make  that  a  ground  for  abolishing 
school  taxation,  dividing  the  school  fund,  or  otherwise  destroy 
ing  the  system,  it  is  time  that  its  friends  should  rise  up  in  its 
defense. 

We  all  agree  that  neither  the  government  nor  political  parties 
ought  to  interfere  with  religious  sects.  It  is  equally  true  that 
religious  sects  ought  not  to  interfere  with  the  government  or 
with  political  parties.  We  believe  that  the  cause  of  good  gov 
ernment  and  the  cause  of  religion  both  suffer  by  all  such  inter 
ference.  But  if  Sectarians  make  demands  for  legislation  of 
political  parties,  and  threaten  that  party  with  opposition  at  the 
elections  in  case  the  required  enactments  are  not  passed,  and  if 
the  political  party  yields  to  such  threats,  then  those  threats, 
those  demands,  and  that  action  of  the  political  party  become  a 
legitimate  subject  of  political  discussion,  and  the  sectarians  who 
thus  interfere  with  the  legislation  of  the  State  are  alone  respon 
sible  for  the  agitation  which  follows. 

And  now  a  few  words  as  to  the  action  of  the  last  legislature  on 
this  subject.  After  an  examination  of  the  Geghan  bill,  we  shall 
perhaps  come  to  the  conclusion  that  in  itself  it  is  not  of  great 
importance.  I  would  not  undervalue  the  conscientious  scruples 


254  LIFE   OF   RUTHERFORD    B.    HAYES. 


on  the  subject  of  religion  of  a  convict  in  the  penitentiary,  or  of 
any  unfortunate  person  in  any  State  institution.  But  the  pro 
vision  of  the  constitution  of  the  State  covers  the  whole  ground. 
It  needs  no  awkwardly  framed  statute  of  doubtful  meaning,  like 
the  Geghan  bill,  to  accomplish  the  object  of  the  organic  law. 
The  old  constitution  of  1802,  and  the  constitution  now  in  force, 
of  1851,  are  substantially  alike.  Both  declare  (I  quote  section 
7,  article  1,  constitution  of  1851)  : 

"  All  men  have  a  natural  and  indefeasible  right  to  worship  Al 
mighty  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  conscience. 
No  person  shall  be  compelled  to  attend,  erect,  or  support  any 
place  of  worship,  or  maintain  any  form  of  worship  against  his 
consent ;  and  no  preference  shall  be  given  by  law  to  any  relig 
ious  society ;  nor  shall  any  interference  with  the  right  of  con 
science  be  permitted." 

If  the  Geghan  bill  is  merely  a  reenactment  of  this  part  of  the 
bill  of  rights,  it  is  a  work  of  supererogation,  and  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  legislature  did  not,  when  it  was  introduced,  favor 
its  passage.  The  author  of  the  bill  wrote,  "  the  members 
claim  that  such  a  bill  is  not  needed."  The  same  opinion  pre 
vails  in  New  Jersey,  where  a  similar  bill  is  said  to  have  been  de 
feated  by  a  vote  of  three  to  one.  But  the  sectarians  of  Ohio  were 
resolved  on  the  passage,  of  this  bill.  Mr.  Geghan,  its  author, 
wrote  to  Mr.  Murphy,  of  Cincinnati : 

"  We  have  a  prior  claim  upon  the  Democratic  party.  The  ele 
ments  composing  the  Democratic  party  in  Ohio  to-day  are  made 
up  of  Irish  and  German  catholics,  and  they  have  always  been 
loyal  and  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  party.  Hence  the 
party  is  under  obligations  to  us,  and  we  have  a  perfect  right  to 
demand  of  them,  as  a  party,  inasmuch  as  they  are  in  control  of 
the  State  legislature  and  State  government,  and  were  by  both 
our  means  and  votes  placed  where  they  are  to-day,  that  they 
should,  as  a  party,  redress  our  grievances." 

The  organ  of  the  friends  of  the  bill  published  this  letter,  and 
among  other  things  said : 

"  The  political  party  with  which  nine-tenths  of  the  Catholic 
voters  affiliate  on  account  of  past  services  that  they  will  never 
forget,  now  controls  the  State.  Withdraw  the  support  which 
Catholics  have  given  to  it  and  it  will  fall  in  this  city,  county,  and 


APPENDIX.  255 


State,  as  speedily  as  it  has  risen  to  its  long  lost  position  and 
power.  That  party  is  now  on  trial.  Mr.  Geghan's  bill  will  test 
the  sincerity  of  its  professions." 

That  threat  was  effectual.  The  bill  was  passed,  and  the  secta 
rian  organ  therefore  said : 

"  The  unbroken  solid  vote  of  the  Catholic  citizens  of  the  State 
will  be  given  to  the  Democracy  at  the  fall  election." 

In  regard  to  those  who  voted  against  the  bill,  it  said  :  "  They 
have  dug  their  political  grave ;  it  will  not  be  our  fault  if  they  do 
not  till  it.  When  any  of  them  appear  again  in  the  political 
arena,  we  will  put  upon  them  a  brand  that  every  Catholic  citi 
zen  will  understand."  No  defense  of  this  conduct  of  the  last 
legislature  has  yet  been  attempted.  The  facts  are  beyond  dis 
pute.  This  is  the  first  example  of  open  and  successful  sectarian 
interference  with  legislation  in  Ohio.  If  the  people  are  wise, 
they  will  give  it  such  a  rebuke  in  October  that  for  many  years, 
at  least,  it  will  be  the  last. 

But  it  is  claimed  that  the  schools  are  in  no  danger.  Now  that 
public  attention  is  aroused  to  the  importance  of  the  subject,  it 
is  probable  that  in  Ohio  they  are  safe.  But  their  safety  depends 
on  the  rebuke  which  the  people  shall  give  to  the  party  which 
yielded  last  spring  at  Columbus  to  the  threats  of  their  enemies. 
It  is  said  that  no  political  party  "  desires  the  destruction  of  the 
schools."  I  reply,  no  political  party  "desired"  the  passage  of 
the  Geghan  bill ;  but  the  power  which  hates  the  schools  passed 
the  bill.  The  sectarian  wing  of  the  Democratic  party  rules  that 
party  to-day  in  the  great  commercial  metropolis  of  the  Nation. 
It  holds  the  balance  of  power  in  many  of  the  large  cities  of  the 
country.  Without  its  votes,  the  Democratic  party  would  lose 
every  large  city  and  county  in  Ohio  and  every  Northern  State. 
In  the  presidential  canvass  of  18G4,  it  was  claimed  that  General 
McClellan  was  as  good  a  Union  man  as  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
that  he  was  as  much  opposed  to  the  rebellion.  An  eminent  citi 
zen  of  this  State  replied:  "I  learn  from  my  adversaries.  Who 
do  the  enemies  of  the  Union  want  elected  ?  The  man  they  are 
for,  I  am  against."  So  I  would  say  to  the  friends  of  the  public 
schools:  "How  do  the  enemies  of  universal  education  vote?" 
If  the  enemies  of  the  free  schools  give  their  "  unbroken,  solid 


256  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

vote  "  to  the  Democratic  ticket,  the  friends  of  the  schools  will 
make  no  mistake  if  they  vote  the  Republican  ticket. 

The  Republicans  enter  upon  this  important  canvass  with  many 
advantages.  Their  adversaries  are  loaded  down  with  the  record 
of  the  last  legislature.  Democratic  legislatures  have  not  been 
fortunate  in  Ohio.  Since  the  present  division  of  parties,  twenty 
years  ago,  no  Democratic  legislature  has  ever  failed  to  brin>  de 
feat  to  its  party.  The  people  of  Ohio  have  never  been  willing 
to  venture  on  the  experiment  of  two  Democratic  legislatures  in 
succession.  The  Democratic  inflation  platform  offends  German 
Democrats,  has  driven  off  the  Liberal  Republicans,  and  is  ac 
cepted  by  very  few  old-fashioned  Democrats  in  its  true  intent 
and  meaning.  The  Republicans  are  out  of  power  in  the  cities 
and  in  the  State,  and  are  everywhere  taking  the  offensive.  Jf 
Democrats  assail  them  on  account  of  some  affair  of  years  ago, 
or  in  a  distant  Southern  State,  or  at  Washington,  Republicans 
reply  by  pointing  to  what  Democrats  are  now  doing  in  their  own 
cities,  or  have  just  done  in  the  last  legislature.  The  materials 
for  such  retort  are  abundant  and  ready  at  hand.  The  Republi 
cans  are  embarrassed  by  no  entangling  alliance  with  the  secta 
rian  enemies  of  the  public  schools,  and  they  have  yielded  to  no 
sectarian  demands  or  dictation  in  public  affairs.  We  rejoice  to 
see  indications  of  an  active  canvass  and  a  large  vote  at  the  elec 
tion.  Such  a  canvass  and  such  a  vote  in  Ohio  never  yet  re 
sulted  in  a  Democratic  victory.  Our  motto  is  honest  money 
for  all  and  free  schools  for  all.  There  should  be  no  inflation 
which  will  destroy  the  one,  and  no  sectarian  interference  which 
will  destroy  the  other. 


Speech  of  GOVERNOR  HAYES  to  his  neighbors  at  Fremont, 
delivered  June  25,  1876. 

Mr.  Mayor,  Fellow- Citizens,  Friends,  and  Neighbors : 

I  need  not  attempt  to  express  the  emotions  I  feel  at  the  re 
ception  which  the  people  of  Fremont  and  this  county  have  given 
me  to-night.  Under  any  circumstances,  an  assemblage  of  this 


APPENDIX.  257 


sort  at  my  home  to  welcome  me  would  touch  me,  would  excite 
the  warmest  emotions  of  gratitude;  but  what  gives  to  this  its 
distinctive  character  is  the  fact  that  those  who  are  prominent  in 
welcoming  me  home,  I  know,  in  the  past,  have  not  voted  with 
me  or  for  me,  and  they  do  not  intend  in  the  future  to  vote  with 
me  or  for  me.  It  is  simply  that,  coming  to  my  home,  they  re 
joice  that  Ohio,  that  Sandusky  county,  that  the  town  of  Fre 
mont  has  received  at  that  National  Convention  high  honor, 
and  I  thank  you,  Democrats,  fellow-citizens,  Independents,  and 
Kepublicans,  for  this  spontaneous  and  enthusiastic  reception. 

I  trust  that  in  the  course  of  events  the  time  will  never  come 
that  you  will  have  cause  to  regret  what  you  do  to-night.  It  is  a 
very  great  responsibility  that  has  been  placed  upon  me — to  be  a 
representative  of  a  party  embracing  twenty  millions  of  people — 
a  responsibility  which  I  know  I  am  not  equal  to.  I  understand 
very  well  that  it  was  not  by  reason  of  ability  or  talents  that  I 
was  chosen.  But  that  which  does  rejoice  me  is  that  here,  where 
I  have  been  known  from  my  childhood,  there  are  those  that 
come  and  rejoice  at  the  result. 

-  I  trust,  my  friends,  that  as  I  run  along  in  this  desultory  way 
— for  you  well  know  that  since  I  learned  that  I  was  to  be  here 
to-night,  the  multitude  of  letters,  and  visits,  and  telegrams  re 
quiring  attention  have  given  me  no  time  to  prepare  for  a  recep 
tion  like  this — you  must,  therefore,  put  up  with  hastily-formed 
sentences,  very  unfitly  representing  the  sentiments  appropriate 
to  the  occasion.  Let  me,  if  I  may  do  it  without  too  much  egotism, 
recur  to  the  history  of  my  connection  with  Fremont.  Forty-two 
years  ago  my  uncle,  Sardis  Birchard,  brought  me  to  this  place, 
and  I  rejoice,  my  friends,  in  the  good  taste  and  good  feeling 
which  have  placed  his  portrait  here  to-night.  He,  having 
adopted  me  as  his  child,  brought  me  to  Fremont.  I  recollect 
well  the  appearance  of  the  then  Lower  Sandusky,  consisting  of 
a  few  wooden  buildings  scattered  along  the  river,  with  little 
paint  on  them,  and  these  trees  none  of  them  grown,  the  old 
fort  still  having  some  of  its  earthworks  remaining,  so  that  it 
could  be  easily  traced.  A.  pleasant  village  this  was  for  a  boy  to 
enjoy  himself  in.  There  was  the  fishing  on  the  river,  shooting 
water-fowls  above  the  dam,  at  the  islands  and  the  lake.  Per- 


258  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD    B.   HAYES. 


haps  no  boy  ever  enjoyed  his  departure  from  home  better  than 
I  did  when  I  first  came  to  Fremont. 

But  now  see  what  this  town  is, — how  it  has  grown.  It  has 
not  increased  to  a  first-class  city,  but  it  has  become  a  pleasant 
home,  so  pleasant,  so  thriving  that  I  rejoice  to  think  that  what 
ever  may  be  the  result  next  fall  it  will  be  pleasant  to  re 
turn  to  it  when  the  contest  is  over.  If  defeated,  I  shall  return  to 
you  oftener  than  if  I  go  to  the  White  House.  If  I  go  there  I  shall 
look  forward  with  pleasure  to  the  time  when  I  shall  be  permitted 
to  return  to  you,  to  be  a  neighbor  with  you  again.  And  really 
we  have  cause  to  be  satisfied  with  our  home  and  the  interests 
which  the  future  has  in  store  for  us  here.  Larger  cities  always 
have  strife  and  rivalry,  from  which  we  are  free,  and  yet  we  are 
well  situated  between  two  commercial  centers,  the  Eastern  and 
Western,  between  which  is  the  great  highway  of  the  world,  and 
we  can  not  but  partake  of  their  prosperity.  Over  the  railroad 
passing  through  this  place,  or  near  it,  will  pass  for  all  time  to 
come  the  travel  and  trade  of  New  York  and  San  Francisco,  of 
London  and  Pekin.  Every  town  along  this  route  partakes  of 
the  prosperity  of  this  highway.  Upper  Sandusky,  on  the  Pitts 
burgh,  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago  Railroad,  and  Tiffin,  that  thriv 
ing  and  beautiful  city  through  which  passes  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad,  south  of  us,  while  along  the  lake  shore  passes  the 
great  northern  division  of  the  Lake  Shore  Road,  making  this 
route,  as  it  were,  the  great  artery  of  the  world's  travel,  and  we 
can  abide  with  the  prosperity  that  is  to  come  in  the  future.  Those 
of  our  friends  who  travel  in  Europe  return  sometimes  dissatis 
fied,  because  there  is  a  rawness  in  this  country  not  seen  in  Eng 
land  and  the  older  countries  of  Europe.  But  then  the  greatest 
happiness,  as  all  of  us  know,  in  preparing  a  garden  or  a  home 
is  to  see  the  improvements  growing  up  under  our  hands.  This 
is  what  we  enjoy ;  and  the  change  in  Fremont  from  the  time  I 
first  knew  it  till  to-day  gives  me  very  great  pleasure. 

There  is  another  change  which  gives  rise  to  mournful  re 
flections.  When  I  came  here  in  the  year  1834,  I  became 
acquainted  with  honored  citizens  who  are  no  longer  living. 
There  was,  Mr.  Mayor,  your  father,  Rudolphus  Dickinson, 
Thomas  I.  Hawkins,  Judge  Olmsted,  Judge  Howland,  and, 
among  others,  that  marvel  of  business  energy,  George  Grant; 


APPENDIX.  259 


and  I  might  go  on  giving  name  after  name.  But  it  is  true  that 
of  all  those  I  remember  seeing  on  that  first  visit,  not  one  is  with 
us  to-night.  All  who  came  with  me,  my  uncle,  my  mother,  and 
my  sister,  are  gone.  But  this  is  the  order  of  Providence. 
Events  follow  upon  one  another  as  wave  follows  wave  upon  the 
ocean.  It  is  for  each  man  to  do  what  he  can  to  make  others 
happy.  This  is  the  prayer  and  this  is  the  duty  of  life.  Let  us, 
my  friends,  in  every  position,  undertake  to  perform  this  duty. 
For  one,  I  have  no  reliance  except  that  which  Abraham  Lincoln 
Lad  when,  on  leaving  Springfield,  he  said  to  his  friends:  "I  go 
to  Washington  to  assume  a  responsibility  greater  than  that 
which  has  been  devolved  upon  any  one  since  the  first  president, 
and  I  beg  you,  my  friends  and  neighbors,  to  pray  that  I  may 
have  that  Divine  assistance,  without  which  I  can  not  succeed, 
and  with  which  I  can  not  fail."  In  that  spirit  I  ask  you  to  deal 
with  me.  If  it  shall  be  the  will  of  the  people  that  this  nomina 
tion  shall  be  ratified,  I  know  I  shall  have  your  good  wishes  and 
your  prayers.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  shall  be  the  will  of  the 
people  that  another  shall  assume  these  great  responsibilities,  let 
us  see  to  it  that  we  who  shall  oppose  him  give  him  a  fair  trial. 

My  friends,  I  thank  you  for  the  interest  you  have  taken  in 
this  reception,  and  that  you  have  laid  aside  partisan  feeling. 
There  has  been  too  much  bitterness  on  such  occasions  in  our 
land.  Let  us  see  to  it  that  abuse  and  vituperation  of  the  candi 
date  that  shall  be  named  at  St.  Louis  do  not  proceed  from  our 
lips.  Let  us,  in  this  centennial  year,  as  we  enter  upon  this  sec 
ond  century  of  our  existence,  set  an  example  of  what  a  free  and 
intelligent  people  can  do.  There  is  gathered  at  Philadelphia  an 
assemblage  representing  nearly  all  the  Nations  of  the  world,, 
with  their  arts  and  manufactures.  We  have  invited  com 
petition,  and  they  have  come  to  compete  with  us,  and  with 
each  other.  We  find  that  America  stands  well  with  the 
works  of  the  world,  as  there  exhibited.  Let  us  show,  in 
electing  a  chief  magistrate  of  the  Nation — the  officer  that  is 
to  be  the  first  of  forty  or  forty-five  millions — let  us  show  all 
those  who  visit  us  how  the  American  people  can  conduct  them 
selves  through  a  canvass  of  this  kind.  If  it  shall  be  in  the 
spirit  in  which  we  have  met  to-night,  if  it  shall  be  that  just 
ness  and  fairness  shall  be  in  all  the  discussions,  it  will  com- 


260  LIFE    OF   RUTHERFORD   B.    HAYES. 

mend  free  institutions  to  the  world  in  a  way  which  they  have 
never  been  commended  before. 

Well,  friends,  1  am  detaining  you  too  long.  Therefore  I  close 
what  I  have  to  say  by  expressing  the  feelings  of  gratitude  enter 
tained  by  myself  and  family  for  the  kindness  and  regard  shown 
us  by  the  people  of  Fremont.- 

About  the  middle  of  the  war,  General  Sherman  lost  a  boy, 
named  after  himself,  aged  about  thirteen  years.  lie  supposed 
that  he  belonged  to  the  Thirteenth  Infantry,  and  when  they  went 
out  to  drill  and  dress  parade,  he  dressed  in  the  dress  of  a  ser 
geant  and  marched  with  them.  But  he  sickened  arid  died.  The 
regiment  gathered  about  him,  for  he  was  to  them  a  comrade — 
dear  as  the  child  is  loved  by  men  who  are  torn  away  from 
the  associations  of  home.  General  Sherman,  the  great  soldier, 
was  touched  by  it.  He  said  it  would  be  idle  for  him  to  try  to 
express  the  gratitude  which  he  felt;  but  he  said  they  held  the 
key  to  the  affections  of  himself  and  family,  and  if .  any  of  them 
should  ever  be  in  need,  if  they  would  mention  that  they  be 
longed  to  the  Thirteenth  Infantry  at  the  time  his  boy  died,  they 
would  divide  with  him  the  last  blanket,  and  last  morsel  of  food. 
It  is  in  this  spirit  that  I  wish  to  express  my  thanks  to  the  peo 
ple  of  Fremont  for  the  welcome  they  have  given  me.  I  bid  you, 
my  friends,  good  night. 


£682. 


I 


